A step towards taking animal testing out of drug testing

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Delivering drugs to the brain remains one of the great challenges of pharmaceutical science. This is in large part due to the blood-brain barrier, the collection of cells and gels that line the blood vessels of the brain. This complex system tightly regulates the flow of material between the bloodstream and the brain, making sure your brain has enough glucose to keep you thinking while stopping any unwanted material from getting in. Unfortunately, your blood-brain barrier also counts over 98% of small molecule drugs (and 100% of large molecule drugs!) as ‘unwanted material’, and so treating brain diseases and disorders, from Alzheimer’s to brain cancer, remains extremely difficult. Condensed Matter Physics member Joe Forth gave invited talks at two recent meetings, “Innovations in Brain Tissue Engineering” hosted by GW4 at the University of Bristol and the “13th Early Career Blood-Brain Barrier Symposium” at Edge Hill University, where he presented his work on developing a 3D-printed blood-brain barrier, earning him the “David Begley Excellence Award for Young BBB Researchers”. Dr. Forth’s work aims to develop an artificial system on which drugs can be developed for delivery to the brain, reducing the need for animal testing in a range of industries.