Blood Brain Barrier Essay

Scientific Background and Long-term Objectives Blood brain barrier (BBB) is a selectively permeable membrane that controls the passage of substances from the bloodstream to the central nervous system (CNS).Poor penetration of the drugs with various compositions across the BBB is evident in the biomedical research. This impacted greatly the pharmaceutical interventions of various neurodegenerative disorders, brain tumours and impairment of the CNS [1].BBB is the main route for the therapeutic compounds targeted to the brain. But, majority of the neuro-medicines, transporter ligands and hydrophilic (water loving) molecules have less permeability across this region [1]. Nanocarriers (size 1-100nm) are defined as carriers being used to transport drug molecules to the target site. Nanocarriers, specifically amphiphilic based lipids (both hydrophobic and hydrophilic nature) provide great therapeutic potential [2]. Hence, my research would be to design and test the effectiveness of biodegradable nanocarriers that can carry both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drug components. Various drug delivery approaches have been designed in order to overcome BBB, for instance: modification of BBB functions, circumvention (to bypass) of BBB and modification of drug molecules. Invasive strategies used for drug delivery like …show more content…
Side-effects, safety and reversibility would be monitored continuously. BBB itself could act as the CNS drug source. If BBB becomes leaky, it allows immune cells entry to the CNS. Nevertheless, the immune cell passage across BBB is regulated and leakage acts as by-product of the immune cells trafficking. The luminal surface does not necessitate passage across BBB and thereby, targeting peripheral tissues are highly effective to almost half of BBB. The luminal receptors, which stimulate endothelial cells of the brain, are readily targetable