FIG. 1.

Development process of BoCs. (a) A BoC that enables compartmentalized cell culture. Cells are cultured on a 2D glass with the intention of isolating only the axonal part of the neurons in shallow channels. (b) A BoC that mimics the BBB. A porous membrane is located between the two microchannels. Neural and endothelial cells are attached on either side of the membrane. (c) A BoC that aims at high-content screening. Tight cell–cell interactions within the 3D microenvironment are possible by patterning the hydrogel into BoC. This method attempts to mimic the neural tissue more closely. (d) An interconnected multichip system. Culture media can be circulated using a pump to investigate the interactions between various cells through the connection of several BoCs. (e) A BoC developed for high-throughput screening. The BoC can be miniaturized to be fit into conventional cell-culture ware, such as a 96-well plate; this platform is compatible with a conventional high-throughput screening apparatus.