MOLECULAR COMMUNICATION: Interconnecting Tiny NanoBio Devices

Recent advances in the fi elds of bioengineering and nanotechnology have resulted in the emergence of tiny devices of sub-millimeter and even micron or less dimensions that can perform sensing and actuation. In many cases, the main challenge in moving these devices out of the laboratory and into the real world is not production cost, as they can be produced cost-eff ectively in large volumes, but rather a communication problem. For many applications, these tiny devices need to communicate and collaborate in swarms, or they need to transmit their measurements to other devices. Inspired by nature, chemical signaling (also known as molecular communication) is an eff ective solution to this problem. Th is article explores some of the recent advancements and challenges in engineering molecular communication systems.

[1]  Sylvain Martel,et al.  Switching between Magnetotactic and Aerotactic Displacement Controls to Enhance the Efficacy of MC-1 Magneto-Aerotactic Bacteria as Cancer-Fighting Nanorobots , 2016, Micromachines.

[2]  Wei Zhu,et al.  3D‐Printed Artificial Microfish , 2015, Advanced materials.

[3]  Mahtab Mirmohseni,et al.  Information Theory of Molecular Communication: Directions and Challenges , 2016, IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological and Multi-Scale Communications.

[4]  Ron Weiss,et al.  Engineered Communications for Microbial Robotics , 2000, DNA Computing.

[5]  O. Farokhzad,et al.  Degradable Controlled-Release Polymers and Polymeric Nanoparticles: Mechanisms of Controlling Drug Release. , 2016, Chemical reviews.

[6]  Tadashi Nakano,et al.  Molecular Communication , 2005 .

[7]  Andrew W. Eckford,et al.  Channel and Noise Models for Nonlinear Molecular Communication Systems , 2013, IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications.

[8]  Ron Milo,et al.  Are We Really Vastly Outnumbered? Revisiting the Ratio of Bacterial to Host Cells in Humans , 2016, Cell.

[9]  Andrew W. Eckford,et al.  Molecular MIMO: From Theory to Prototype , 2016, IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications.

[10]  Ron Weiss,et al.  Engineering life: building a fab for biology. , 2006, Scientific American.

[11]  Priscilla E. M. Purnick,et al.  The second wave of synthetic biology: from modules to systems , 2009, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology.

[12]  Christopher Rose,et al.  Inscribed Matter Communication: Part I , 2016, IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological and Multi-Scale Communications.

[13]  Andrea J. Goldsmith,et al.  Time-slotted transmission over molecular timing channels , 2017, Nano Commun. Networks.

[14]  Amin Gohari,et al.  Diffusion-Based Nanonetworking: A New Modulation Technique and Performance Analysis , 2012, IEEE Communications Letters.

[15]  B. Bassler,et al.  Quorum sensing: cell-to-cell communication in bacteria. , 2005, Annual review of cell and developmental biology.

[16]  Robert Schober,et al.  Improving Receiver Performance of Diffusive Molecular Communication With Enzymes , 2013, IEEE Transactions on NanoBioscience.

[17]  M. Blaser,et al.  The human microbiome: at the interface of health and disease , 2012, Nature Reviews Genetics.

[18]  Samuel Sánchez,et al.  Graphene-Based Microbots for Toxic Heavy Metal Removal and Recovery from Water , 2016, Nano letters.

[19]  Tuna Tugcu,et al.  A novel modulation technique in diffusion based molecular communication and its performance analysis , 2014, 2014 22nd Signal Processing and Communications Applications Conference (SIU).

[20]  Andrew W. Eckford,et al.  A Comprehensive Survey of Recent Advancements in Molecular Communication , 2014, IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials.

[21]  O. B. Akan,et al.  Nanoscale Communication With Molecular Arrays in Nanonetworks , 2012, IEEE Transactions on NanoBioscience.

[22]  Vahid Jamali,et al.  Non-Coherent Detection for Diffusive Molecular Communication Systems , 2017, IEEE Transactions on Communications.

[23]  Jeff Hasty,et al.  Programmable probiotics for detection of cancer in urine , 2015, Science Translational Medicine.

[24]  Vahid Jamali,et al.  Channel Estimation for Diffusive Molecular Communications , 2016, IEEE Transactions on Communications.

[25]  Tuna Tugcu,et al.  ISI Mitigation Techniques in Molecular Communication , 2014, IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological and Multi-Scale Communications.

[26]  D. Endy.  Foundations for engineering biology , 2005, Nature.

[27]  Ian F. Akyildiz,et al.  Nanonetworks: A new communication paradigm , 2008, Comput. Networks.

[28]  Andrea J. Goldsmith,et al.  A Novel Experimental Platform for In-Vessel Multi-Chemical Molecular Communications , 2017, GLOBECOM 2017 - 2017 IEEE Global Communications Conference.

[29]  Özgür B. Akan,et al.  Receiver Design for Molecular Communication , 2013, IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications.

[30]  Christopher A. Voigt,et al.  Environmentally controlled invasion of cancer cells by engineered bacteria. , 2006, Journal of molecular biology.

[31]  Ozgur B. Akan,et al.  Controlled Information Transfer Through An In Vivo Nervous System , 2018, Scientific Reports.

[32]  Andrea J. Goldsmith,et al.  A molecular communication system using acids, bases and hydrogen ions , 2015, 2016 IEEE 17th International Workshop on Signal Processing Advances in Wireless Communications (SPAWC).

[33]  Ayusman Sen,et al.  Fantastic voyage: designing self-powered nanorobots. , 2012, Angewandte Chemie.

[34]  Andrea J. Goldsmith,et al.  Non-Coherent Multiple-Symbol Detection for Diffusive Molecular Communications , 2016, NANOCOM.

[35]  Robert A. Freitas,et al.  Nanomedicine, Volume I: Basic Capabilities , 1999 .

[36]  W. Agosta.  Chemical Communication: The Language of Pheromones , 1992 .

[37]  H.A. Wheeler,et al.  Fundamental Limitations of Small Antennas , 1947, Proceedings of the IRE.

[38]  Andrea J. Goldsmith,et al.  Capacity Limits of Diffusion-Based Molecular Timing Channels With Finite Particle Lifetime , 2016, IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological and Multi-Scale Communications.

[39]  Andrew W. Eckford,et al.  Tabletop Molecular Communication: Text Messages through Chemical Signals , 2013, PloS one.