A predictive microfluidic model of human glioblastoma to assess trafficking of blood–brain barrier-penetrant nanoparticles

Abstract

Significance The blood–brain barrier represents a major therapeutic challenge for the treatment of glioblastoma, and there is an unmet need for in vitro models that recapitulate human biology and are predictive of in vivo response. Here, we present a microfluidic model of vascularized glioblastoma featuring a tumor spheroid in direct contact with self-assembled vascular networks comprising human endothelial cells, astrocytes, and pericytes. This model was designed to accelerate the development of targeted nanotherapeutics and enabled rigorous assessment of a panel of surface-functionalized nanoparticles designed to exploit a receptor overexpressed in tumor-associated vasculature. Trafficking and efficacy data in the in vitro model compared favorably to parallel in vivo data, highlighting the utility of the vascularized glioblastoma model for therapeutic development.