Bioengineers on the brink of breaching blood-brain barrier

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have developed a model that uses lipid nanoparticles to deliver messenger RNA (mRNA) through the blood-brain barrier, offering new hope for treating conditions like Alzheimer's disease and seizures. The blood-brain barrier is a selective, semi-permeable membrane between the blood and the brain that blocks the passage of certain substances, including therapeutic drugs. "Our model performed better at crossing the blood-brain barrier than others and helped us identify organ-specific particles that we later validated in future models," said Michael Mitchell, one of the scientists involved in the study.