Carbon Quantum Dots from Lemon Waste Enable Communication among Biodevices

Abstract

A bioinspired method of communication among biodevices based on fluorescent nanoparticles is herein presented. This approach does not use electromagnetic waves but rather the exchange of chemical systems—a method known as molecular communication. The example outlined was based on the fluorescence properties of carbon dots and follows a circular economy approach as the method involves preparation from the juice of lemon waste. The synthesis is herein presented, and the fluorescence properties and diffusion coefficient are evaluated. The application of carbon dots to molecular communication was studied from a theoretical point of view by numerically solving the differential equation that governs the phenomenon. The theoretical results were used to develop a prototype molecular communication platform that enables the communication of simple messages via aqueous fluids to a fluorescence-detecting biodevice receiver.

Effect of Channel Radius on Fluorescent Nanoparticle Based Molecular Communication

“…4a were obtained by changing the flow velocity and keeping constant the diffusion coefficient having a value of 3 × 10 −10 m 2 /s. This value was chosen based on information nanoparticles with a typical size of about 2 nm [38]. It can be observed that none of the signals in question have a Gaussian distribution but are all curves with distorted symmetry.…”

Fluorescence sensing by carbon nanoparticles

“…22,23 The raw materials used vary widely, ranging from simple carbonaceous sources such as citric acid 24 and simple carbohydrates 25 to polymers 26 including biopolymers, 27 and even biomass and food waste. 28 CNPs exhibit optical absorption peaks primarily in the UV region and partly in the visible. The transitions are generally associated with the p-p* transition of the sp2 conjugated carbon and the n-p* transition of hybridization with heteroatoms of the outer shell containing carboxyl groups or associated with the presence of N, S, P, etc.…”

“…22,23 The raw materials used vary widely, ranging from simple carbonaceous sources such as citric acid 24 and simple carbohydrates 25 to polymers 26 including biopolymers, 27 and even biomass and food waste. 28…”

Comprehensive step-by-step procedure to setup a molecular communication through liquid experiment

“…The formation of these nanoparticles in soot from candles, coffee grounds, milk or burnt hair has been confirmed [11] Since their first discovery in 2004 [12] , the potential of carbon-based CQD was immediately clear, and in the years that followied the scientific community produced a large amount of literature reporting many synthetic techniques with different levels of sophistication. These included laser ablation processes, pyrolysis, hydrothermal synthesis, microwave-assisted synthesis, and electrochemistry [ 13 , 14 ] starting from any organic carbon-based raw material, including food waste [15] . Structurally, these CQD appear as discs/spheres with diameters ranging from ∼2–30 nm.…”