Prediction of blood-brain barrier permeation in drug discovery from in vivo, in vitro and in silico models.

The properties of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) are important considerations when designing drugs to target or avoid the brain. In vivo models provide some of the most reliable measurements of BBB drug permeability, whereas several new cell-based in vitro technologies give valuable mechanistic insights. Higher throughout methods (cell- and non-cell-based; in silico modelling) can help in prediction of permeation, but a combination of techniques is still required to cover the range of BBB drug entry and efflux mechanisms.: