Periodic Reporting for period 1 - REINFORMATION (engineering ligand-REceptor INteractions FOR Molecular communicATIONs)
Reporting period: 2021-12-01 to 2023-11-30
The transmission of information through molecules is a fundamental aspect of nature, underlying collective behaviour, homeostasis, and numerous disorders and diseases. It could hold answers to some of life’s most profound questions. Understanding and engineering this natural communication method, namely Molecular Communications (MC), offers the potential to revolutionize various research fields, including healthcare, computing, and micro/nanorobotics. MC holds promise for novel applications such as continuous health monitoring, smart intrabody drug delivery, and wetware artificial intelligence, all of which could have substantial societal and economic impacts. The main objective of the project was to understand, optimise, and engineer Ligand-Receptor (LR) interactions for high data-rate and reliable MC systems. LR binding interactions are fundamental to natural MC systems, ensuring selective information transfer. These interactions are equally crucial in artificial MC systems to ensure selective and reliable communication. Building upon this understanding, the project’s specific objectives were to: (i) develop an experimentally validated theoretical framework for micro/nanoscale MC; (ii) create an experimental validation platform for micro/nanoscale MC; (iii) optimize and engineer LR interactions for high data-rate MC; and (iv) develop practical MC techniques for high data-rate applications.
To achieve the ambitious goals of the project, a multidisciplinary methodology was adopted that integrated theoretical modelling, simulations, and micro/nano-fabrication and characterization techniques. This approach led to the development of the first realistic physical models for microfluidic molecular communication (MC) systems. These models revealed the optimal range of ligand-receptor (LR) binding parameters for the best MC performance. Moreover, a novel microfluidic experimental MC platform was created, featuring graphene field-effect transistor (FET) DNA biosensor-based MC receivers. Moreover, a novel microfluidic experimental MC platform featuring graphene field-effect transistor (FET) DNA biosensor-based MC receivers was developed to demonstrate the impact of LR interactions on MC performance. Additionally, novel, practical MC modulation, pulse shaping, and detection techniques have been developed, leveraging the statistics of LR interactions for high-rate and reliable information transfer under realistic channel conditions.
The project advanced the state-of-the-art in three directions. It contributed a theoretical optimization framework with new physical models for practical microfluidic molecular communication (MC) systems providing higher accuracy compared to the existing theoretical models in the literature. It contributed a practical micro/nanoscale MC experimental validation platform that is capable of replicating the physiological conditions with a channel-receiver interface composed of ligand receptors and offers higher customizability compared to state-of-the-art testbeds. It contributed practical and low-complexity novel modulation, pulse shaping, and detection techniques for MC relying on ligand-receptor interactions. The results have wider implications for bio/chemical sensing, drug delivery systems, drug design, and unconventional biocomputing, all of which imply substantial societal and economic impacts.