TY - JOUR
T1 - Real-time signal processing via chemical reactions for a microfluidic molecular communication system
AU - Walter, Vivien
AU - Bi, Dadi
AU - Salehi-Reyhani, Ali
AU - Deng, Yansha
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Dr. Mingfeng Wang at Brunel University London for fruitful conversations and the precious help with setting the PID controller to regulate the flow rate of the pump. We thank the Department of Physics at King’s College London for allowing us to conduct in their premises all the experiments used to collect the data for this paper, as well as the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London for allowing us to calibrate our equipment in their premises. This work was supported by an EPSRC/UKRI New Investigator Award (EP/T000937/1) to Y.D. and an EPSRC/UKRI Innovation Fellowship (EP/S001603/1) to A.S-R.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - Signal processing over the molecular domain is critical for analysing, modifying, and synthesising chemical signals in molecular communication systems. However, the lack of chemical signal processing blocks and the wide use of electronic devices to process electrical signals in existing molecular communication platforms can hardly meet the biocompatible, non-invasive, and size-miniaturised requirements of applications in various fields, e.g., medicine, biology, and environment sciences. To tackle this, here we design and construct a liquid-based microfluidic molecular communication platform for performing chemical concentration signal processing and digital signal transmission over distances. By specifically designing chemical reactions and microfluidic geometry, the transmitter of our platform is capable of shaping the emitted signals, and the receiver is able to threshold, amplify, and detect the chemical signals after propagation. By encoding bit information into the concentration of sodium hydroxide, we demonstrate that our platform can achieve molecular signal modulation and demodulation functionalities, and reliably transmit text messages over long distances. This platform is further optimised to maximise data rate while minimising communication error. The presented methodology for real-time chemical signal processing can enable the implementation of signal processing units in biological settings and then unleash its potential for interdisciplinary applications.
AB - Signal processing over the molecular domain is critical for analysing, modifying, and synthesising chemical signals in molecular communication systems. However, the lack of chemical signal processing blocks and the wide use of electronic devices to process electrical signals in existing molecular communication platforms can hardly meet the biocompatible, non-invasive, and size-miniaturised requirements of applications in various fields, e.g., medicine, biology, and environment sciences. To tackle this, here we design and construct a liquid-based microfluidic molecular communication platform for performing chemical concentration signal processing and digital signal transmission over distances. By specifically designing chemical reactions and microfluidic geometry, the transmitter of our platform is capable of shaping the emitted signals, and the receiver is able to threshold, amplify, and detect the chemical signals after propagation. By encoding bit information into the concentration of sodium hydroxide, we demonstrate that our platform can achieve molecular signal modulation and demodulation functionalities, and reliably transmit text messages over long distances. This platform is further optimised to maximise data rate while minimising communication error. The presented methodology for real-time chemical signal processing can enable the implementation of signal processing units in biological settings and then unleash its potential for interdisciplinary applications.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85176003377&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-023-42885-0
DO - 10.1038/s41467-023-42885-0
M3 - Article
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 14
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
IS - 1
M1 - 7188
ER -