ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a comprehensive and detailed description of the currently existing in vitro models of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), addressing the advantages and drawbacks of each mentioned model, on a comparative perspective. The concept of the BBB is not new. In fact, it arose between the late ends of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, after the intravenous or intrathecal administration of dyes resulted in selective compartmental organ staining. Transwell BBB models are static systems, that is, they do not contemplate the free flow of fluids and the shear stress forces on the endothelial cells. The BBB-on-chip models are a new generation of in vitro approaches which emerged following the development ofmicrofluidic technology and sensor engineering. The assembling of a microfluid BBB model involves the culturing of brain endothelial cells. Endothelial cells can be harvested from ex vivo brain samples, collected during surgical procedures from donors or animals.
