Modeling convection-diffusion-reaction systems for microfluidic molecular communications with surface-based receivers...

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Chemical Engineering
• Information Theory

Background:

• Microfluidic molecular communication (MC) relies on diffusion and convection for signal transmission.
• Surface-based receivers with ligand receptors detect molecular messages.
• Accurate analytical models are crucial for optimizing MC systems in information and communication technology (ICT).

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an analytical model for approximating the received signal in MC systems.
• To overcome the limitations of computationally intensive numerical methods like finite element analysis (FEA).
• To provide a framework for optimizing MC system performance through advanced communication techniques.

Main Methods:

• Developed an analytical model for the convection-diffusion-reaction system.
• Incorporated nonlinearities from laminar flow (parabolic velocity profile) and receiver saturation.
• Accounted for reactive surface depletion and moving reaction boundaries.
• Derived closed-form analytical expressions for received signal characteristics.

Main Results:

• The analytical model accurately approximates the time course of bound receptor concentration.
• Closed-form expressions were derived for received pulse width, delay, and amplitude.
• Model predictions closely matched numerical results from COMSOL Multiphysics simulations.

Conclusions:

• The proposed analytical model offers an efficient alternative to numerical methods for MC system analysis.
• The model facilitates the optimization of MC systems from an ICT perspective.
• This work advances the development of reliable microfluidic communication technologies.