Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Methods Mol Biol. 2022;2492:193-224. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2289-6_11.
The use of microfluidic chips is now allowing for more advanced modelling of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in vitro, recapitulating heterotypic interactions, 3D architecture, and physiological flow. This chapter will give an introduction to these new technologies and how they are being applied to model the BBB and neurovascular unit (NVU). A foundational understanding of the fluid dynamics germane to the effective use of these chips will be set and an overview of how physical phenomena at the microscale can be exploited to enable new possibilities to control the cell culture environment. The four main approaches to construct microfluidic blood vessel mimetics will be discussed with examples of how these techniques are being applied to model the BBB and more recently to study specific neurovascular disease processes. Finally, practical guidance will be given for researchers wishing to adopt these new techniques along with a summary of the challenges, limitations faced, and new opportunities opened up by these advanced cell culture systems.
微流控芯片的使用现在使得在体外对血脑屏障（BBB）进行更先进的建模成为可能，重现了异型相互作用、3D 结构和生理流动。本章将介绍这些新技术以及它们如何被应用于模拟 BBB 和神经血管单元（NVU）。将介绍与有效使用这些芯片相关的流体动力学基础知识，并概述如何利用微尺度上的物理现象来为控制细胞培养环境提供新的可能性。将讨论构建微流控血管模拟物的四种主要方法，并举例说明这些技术如何被应用于模拟 BBB，以及最近如何用于研究特定的神经血管疾病过程。最后，将为希望采用这些新技术的研究人员提供实用指南，并总结这些先进的细胞培养系统所面临的挑战、局限性和新机遇。
