Title:Blood-Vessel-on-a-Chip Platforms for Evaluating Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Systems
Volume: 19
Issue: 2
Author(s): Yuancheng Li, Kai Zhu, Xiao Liu and Yu Shrike Zhang*
Affiliation:
- Department of Orthopedics, First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning 116001,China
Keywords:
Microfluidics, blood vessel, 3D bioprinting, drug delivery, nanomedicine, drug screening.
Abstract: Background: Nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems hold great promise for the treatment of major
diseases. However, their slow translation from bench to the clinic posts a concern. It is mainly attributed to the lack
of suitable in vitro platforms for rapid and accurate screening of nanomedicine. Recent developments in microfluidic
technologies have provided the possibility to reproduce the biomimetic blood vessel microenvironments outside the
body, thus offering a convenient means to characterize the in vivo dynamics and biological responses of nanoparticles
during circulation.
Objective: In this review, we discuss the challenges facing the field of nanoparticle drug delivery and highlight the
urgent need for construction of blood-vessel-on-a-chip platforms for testing nanomedicine. We subsequently illustrate
advances in fabricating various well-controlled blood-vessel-on-a-chip platforms, covering a few examples that have
used such models for evaluating nanoparticle behaviors. We then summarize with conclusions and perspectives.
Conclusion: We anticipate that, further development of these blood-vessel-on-a-chip platforms with improved
biomimetic parameters, tissue specificity, and personalization, will enable their wide applications in drug screening
including nanomedicine.
