Pub Date : 2024-02-23DOI: 10.1109/TMBMC.2024.3369391
Laura Galluccio;Alfio Lombardo;Giacomo Morabito;Fabrizio Pappalardo;Salvatore Quattropani
Droplet microfluidics is a research area rapidly evolving due to its vast range of potential applications in several fields ranging from medicine to biodefense, and drug administration. In this context, it is crucial to identify efficient and effective methods for communicating by means of droplets. Various techniques have been proposed in the past to encode data by exploiting droplets, such as utilizing droplet size, droplet composition, or the presence/absence of droplets. Nevertheless, these methods are plagued by propagation delays within the channel, resulting in the impossibility to rapidly deliver information at the receiver. To address this issue, this paper introduces a novel methodology for encoding information. The proposed approach involves the instantaneous manipulation of a train of dye drops within a continuous oil phase to induce variations in flow properties. By capitalizing on the stable and laminar flow of the drops, our objective is to encode data instantaneously by altering the dye-oil pressure pairs. To better predict and explain the microfluidic dynamics in the channel, we develop a model of the proposed scheme.
{"title":"Modeling of Droplet Speed Shift Keying in Microfluidic Communications","authors":"Laura Galluccio;Alfio Lombardo;Giacomo Morabito;Fabrizio Pappalardo;Salvatore Quattropani","doi":"10.1109/TMBMC.2024.3369391","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TMBMC.2024.3369391","url":null,"abstract":"Droplet microfluidics is a research area rapidly evolving due to its vast range of potential applications in several fields ranging from medicine to biodefense, and drug administration. In this context, it is crucial to identify efficient and effective methods for communicating by means of droplets. Various techniques have been proposed in the past to encode data by exploiting droplets, such as utilizing droplet size, droplet composition, or the presence/absence of droplets. Nevertheless, these methods are plagued by propagation delays within the channel, resulting in the impossibility to rapidly deliver information at the receiver. To address this issue, this paper introduces a novel methodology for encoding information. The proposed approach involves the instantaneous manipulation of a train of dye drops within a continuous oil phase to induce variations in flow properties. By capitalizing on the stable and laminar flow of the drops, our objective is to encode data instantaneously by altering the dye-oil pressure pairs. To better predict and explain the microfluidic dynamics in the channel, we develop a model of the proposed scheme.","PeriodicalId":36530,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological, and Multi-Scale Communications","volume":"10 1","pages":"164-174"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140161245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The paper presents the significance of microfluidic technology in advancing Molecular Communications (MC). It highlights the transition from theoretical MC models to practical applications, emphasizing the role of microfluidics in validating and advancing MC concepts. The paper covers various aspects including theoretical principles, simulation tools, practical realizations, and envisioned applications. We also present various microfluidic testbeds, detailing their design, capabilities, and applications in advancing MC. To bridge the gap between theoretical models and practical outcomes in MC, this work demonstrates the potential of microfluidics in the practical realization of MC systems.
本文介绍了微流控技术在推进分子通讯(MC)方面的重要意义。它强调了从理论 MC 模型到实际应用的过渡,强调了微流控技术在验证和推进 MC 概念方面的作用。论文涵盖了理论原理、模拟工具、实际实现和设想应用等各个方面。我们还介绍了各种微流控实验平台,详细说明了它们的设计、功能以及在推进 MC 方面的应用。为了缩小 MC 理论模型与实际成果之间的差距,这项工作展示了微流控技术在实际实现 MC 系统方面的潜力。
{"title":"Microfluidic Systems for Molecular Communications: A Review From Theory to Practice","authors":"Medina Hamidović;Stefan Angerbauer;Dadi Bi;Yansha Deng;Tuna Tugcu;Werner Haselmayr","doi":"10.1109/TMBMC.2024.3368768","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TMBMC.2024.3368768","url":null,"abstract":"The paper presents the significance of microfluidic technology in advancing Molecular Communications (MC). It highlights the transition from theoretical MC models to practical applications, emphasizing the role of microfluidics in validating and advancing MC concepts. The paper covers various aspects including theoretical principles, simulation tools, practical realizations, and envisioned applications. We also present various microfluidic testbeds, detailing their design, capabilities, and applications in advancing MC. To bridge the gap between theoretical models and practical outcomes in MC, this work demonstrates the potential of microfluidics in the practical realization of MC systems.","PeriodicalId":36530,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological, and Multi-Scale Communications","volume":"10 1","pages":"147-163"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=10443866","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140161158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Molecular communication is a communication paradigm inspired by biological systems, where chemical signals are used to encode and transmit information. MoSK (Molecule Shift Keying) is proposed as a modulation technique that utilizes different types of signaling molecules to encode digital information. A prototype platform for MoSK implementation is presented, including a transmitter with infusion and selection valves, and a fluorescence-based receiver. The receiver detects and decodes fluorescence signals emitted by Graphene Quantum Dots (GQDs), which are water-soluble and fluorescent molecular messengers. The fluorescence signals of Blue-GQDs and Cyan-GQDs are acquired by the receiver, and the performance of the system is evaluated in terms of synchronization, detection threshold, and symbol recognition using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results demonstrate the successful detection and recognition of different symbols, even at lower concentrations. PCA proves to be an efficient method for qualitative recognition of molecular messengers in MoSK-based molecular communication systems.
{"title":"Experimental Implementation of Molecule Shift Keying for Enhanced Molecular Communication","authors":"Federico Calì;Salvatore Barreca;Giovanni Li-Destri;Alberto Torrisi;Antonino Licciardello;Nunzio Tuccitto","doi":"10.1109/TMBMC.2024.3368759","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TMBMC.2024.3368759","url":null,"abstract":"Molecular communication is a communication paradigm inspired by biological systems, where chemical signals are used to encode and transmit information. MoSK (Molecule Shift Keying) is proposed as a modulation technique that utilizes different types of signaling molecules to encode digital information. A prototype platform for MoSK implementation is presented, including a transmitter with infusion and selection valves, and a fluorescence-based receiver. The receiver detects and decodes fluorescence signals emitted by Graphene Quantum Dots (GQDs), which are water-soluble and fluorescent molecular messengers. The fluorescence signals of Blue-GQDs and Cyan-GQDs are acquired by the receiver, and the performance of the system is evaluated in terms of synchronization, detection threshold, and symbol recognition using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results demonstrate the successful detection and recognition of different symbols, even at lower concentrations. PCA proves to be an efficient method for qualitative recognition of molecular messengers in MoSK-based molecular communication systems.","PeriodicalId":36530,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological, and Multi-Scale Communications","volume":"10 1","pages":"175-184"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140161244","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Recent molecular communication (MC) research has integrated more detailed computational models to capture the dynamics of practical biophysical systems. This paper focuses on developing realistic models for MC transceivers inspired by spheroids – three-dimensional cell aggregates commonly used in organ-on-chip experimental systems. Potential applications that can be used or modeled with spheroids include nutrient transport in organ-on-chip systems, the release of biomarkers or reception of drug molecules by cancerous tumor sites, or transceiver nanomachines participating in information exchange. In this paper, a simple diffusive MC system is considered where a spheroidal transmitter and spheroidal receiver are in an unbounded fluid environment. These spheroidal antennas are modeled as porous media for diffusive signaling molecules, then their boundary conditions and effective diffusion coefficients are characterized. Furthermore, for either a point source or spheroidal transmitter, the Green’s function for concentration (GFC) outside and inside the receiving spheroid is analytically derived and formulated in terms of an infinite series and confirmed with a particle-based simulator (PBS). The provided GFCs enable computation of the transmitted and received signals in the proposed spheroidal communication system. This study shows that the porous structure of the receiving spheroid amplifies diffusion signals but also disperses them, thus there is a trade-off between porosity and information transmission rate. Furthermore, the results reveal that the porous arrangement of the transmitting spheroid not only disperses the received signal but also attenuates it in comparison to a point source transmitter. System performance is also evaluated in terms of the bit error rate (BER). Decreasing the porosity of the receiving spheroid is shown to enhance the system performance. Conversely, reducing the porosity of the transmitting spheroid can adversely affect system performance.
最近的分子通讯(MC)研究已经整合了更详细的计算模型,以捕捉实际生物物理系统的动态。本文的重点是受球体--器官芯片实验系统中常用的三维细胞聚集体--的启发,为 MC 收发器开发逼真的模型。可以使用球体或利用球体建模的潜在应用包括片上器官系统中的营养输送、生物标记物的释放或癌症肿瘤部位对药物分子的接收,或参与信息交换的收发纳米机械。本文考虑了一个简单的扩散 MC 系统,在该系统中,球形发射器和球形接收器处于无界流体环境中。这些球形天线被模拟为扩散信号分子的多孔介质,然后对其边界条件和有效扩散系数进行表征。此外,对于点源或球形发射器,接收球体内外的浓度格林函数(GFC)都是通过无穷级数分析得出和制定的,并通过粒子模拟器(PBS)进行了确认。利用所提供的 GFC,可以计算拟议球形通信系统中的发射和接收信号。这项研究表明,接收球体的多孔结构会放大扩散信号,但同时也会分散这些信号,因此在多孔性和信息传输速率之间存在权衡。此外,研究结果表明,与点源发射器相比,发射球面的多孔结构不仅能分散接收信号,还能衰减接收信号。系统性能还根据误码率(BER)进行了评估。结果表明,降低接收球面的孔隙率可提高系统性能。相反,降低发射球面的孔隙率则会对系统性能产生不利影响。
{"title":"Spheroidal Molecular Communication via Diffusion: Signaling Between Homogeneous Cell Aggregates","authors":"Mitra Rezaei;Hamidreza Arjmandi;Mohammad Zoofaghari;Kajsa Kanebratt;Liisa Vilén;David Janzén;Peter Gennemark;Adam Noel","doi":"10.1109/TMBMC.2024.3366420","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TMBMC.2024.3366420","url":null,"abstract":"Recent molecular communication (MC) research has integrated more detailed computational models to capture the dynamics of practical biophysical systems. This paper focuses on developing realistic models for MC transceivers inspired by spheroids – three-dimensional cell aggregates commonly used in organ-on-chip experimental systems. Potential applications that can be used or modeled with spheroids include nutrient transport in organ-on-chip systems, the release of biomarkers or reception of drug molecules by cancerous tumor sites, or transceiver nanomachines participating in information exchange. In this paper, a simple diffusive MC system is considered where a spheroidal transmitter and spheroidal receiver are in an unbounded fluid environment. These spheroidal antennas are modeled as porous media for diffusive signaling molecules, then their boundary conditions and effective diffusion coefficients are characterized. Furthermore, for either a point source or spheroidal transmitter, the Green’s function for concentration (GFC) outside and inside the receiving spheroid is analytically derived and formulated in terms of an infinite series and confirmed with a particle-based simulator (PBS). The provided GFCs enable computation of the transmitted and received signals in the proposed spheroidal communication system. This study shows that the porous structure of the receiving spheroid amplifies diffusion signals but also disperses them, thus there is a trade-off between porosity and information transmission rate. Furthermore, the results reveal that the porous arrangement of the transmitting spheroid not only disperses the received signal but also attenuates it in comparison to a point source transmitter. System performance is also evaluated in terms of the bit error rate (BER). Decreasing the porosity of the receiving spheroid is shown to enhance the system performance. Conversely, reducing the porosity of the transmitting spheroid can adversely affect system performance.","PeriodicalId":36530,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological, and Multi-Scale Communications","volume":"10 1","pages":"197-210"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140161173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-08DOI: 10.1109/TMBMC.2024.3364019
Miaowen Wen;Feng Liang;Wen Ye;Xuan Chen
In molecular communication (MC), molecules can play dual roles, one as information carriers and the other as energy providers based on chemical reactions, the importance of which is self-evident. In this paper, we propose a novel modulation scheme, termed absorption shift keying (AbSK), to harvest unused molecules while boosting system performance. It relies on a third switch-controllable molecule harvesting node in addition to both transmitter and receiver in a conventional point-to-point MC scenario. In this setting, the proposed AbSK encodes information onto the ON/OFF state of the third node, so that it can act as a secondary source while capturing redundant molecules released by the primary source (or transmitter). Two detectors are designed for AbSK, namely ideal maximum likelihood and two-step detectors. Asymptotically tight bounds on the bit error rates of both detectors are derived in closed-form. Simulation results validate our theoretical analysis and show that the proposed AbSK outperforms benchmarks and additionally captures molecules to power future transmissions.
在分子通信(MC)中,分子可以扮演双重角色,一个是信息载体,另一个是基于化学反应的能量提供者,其重要性不言而喻。在本文中,我们提出了一种新颖的调制方案,称为吸收偏移键控(AbSK),用于收集未使用的分子,同时提高系统性能。在传统的点对点 MC 方案中,除了发射器和接收器之外,它还依赖于第三个开关可控的分子收集节点。在这种情况下,拟议的 AbSK 将信息编码到第三个节点的开/关状态,这样它就可以充当辅助源,同时捕获主源(或发射器)释放的多余分子。为 AbSK 设计了两种检测器,即理想最大似然检测器和两步检测器。以闭合形式推导出这两种检测器误码率的渐近紧约束。仿真结果验证了我们的理论分析,并表明所提出的 AbSK 性能优于基准,而且还能捕获分子,为未来的传输提供动力。
{"title":"Absorption Shift Keying for Molecular Communication via Diffusion","authors":"Miaowen Wen;Feng Liang;Wen Ye;Xuan Chen","doi":"10.1109/TMBMC.2024.3364019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TMBMC.2024.3364019","url":null,"abstract":"In molecular communication (MC), molecules can play dual roles, one as information carriers and the other as energy providers based on chemical reactions, the importance of which is self-evident. In this paper, we propose a novel modulation scheme, termed absorption shift keying (AbSK), to harvest unused molecules while boosting system performance. It relies on a third switch-controllable molecule harvesting node in addition to both transmitter and receiver in a conventional point-to-point MC scenario. In this setting, the proposed AbSK encodes information onto the ON/OFF state of the third node, so that it can act as a secondary source while capturing redundant molecules released by the primary source (or transmitter). Two detectors are designed for AbSK, namely ideal maximum likelihood and two-step detectors. Asymptotically tight bounds on the bit error rates of both detectors are derived in closed-form. Simulation results validate our theoretical analysis and show that the proposed AbSK outperforms benchmarks and additionally captures molecules to power future transmissions.","PeriodicalId":36530,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological, and Multi-Scale Communications","volume":"10 2","pages":"243-248"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141422598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-08DOI: 10.1109/TMBMC.2024.3360051
Nikolaos Ntetsikas;Styliana Kyriakoudi;Antonis Kirmizis;Bige Deniz Unluturk;Andreas Pitsillides;Ian F. Akyildiz;Marios Lestas
Although continuous advances in theoretical modelling of Molecular Communications (MC) are observed, there is still an insuperable gap between theory and experimental testbeds, especially at the microscale. In this paper, the development of the first testbed incorporating engineered yeast cells is reported. Different from the existing literature, eukaryotic yeast cells are considered for both the sender and the receiver, with $alpha $