Signal generation and storage in FRET-based nanocommunications

Abstract

The paper is concerned with Fӧrster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) considered as a mechanism for communication between nanodevices. Two solved issues are reported in the paper, namely: signal generation and signal storage in FRET-based nanonetworks. First, luciferase molecules as FRET transmitters which are able to generate FRET signals themselves, taking energy from chemical reactions without any external light exposure, are proposed. Second, channelrhodopsins as FRET receivers, as they can convert FRET signals into voltage, are suggested. Further, medical in-body systems where both molecule types might be successfully applied, are discussed. Luciferasechannelrhodopsin communication is modeled and its performance is numerically validated, reporting on its throughput, bit error rate, propagation delay and energy consumption. IntroductionWith the current rapid development of technology, electronic and mechanical devices can be much smaller than even a decade ago, at the same time gaining new operating functionalities. However, when the device scale goes to the size of single molecules, cooperation between such devices and contacting them from outside their networks become quite challenging issues. Fӧrster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET), a phenomenon characterized by very small propagation delays and a good throughput, has already been proposed for nanocommunications [1] and has been proved to be an efficient mechanism for transferring data at nanodistances [2][3][4]. Research on FRET for nanocommunication purposes and its integration with other elements on nanoworld is though at an early stage.The main contribution of the paper is solving two issues that, until now, were not solved for FRETbased communications [5]. The first issue is concerned with FRET signal storage. A molecule receiving a FRET signal cannot hold it and the signal must quickly be released, usually emitting a photon. Here, we propose to use channelrhodopsins which are molecules that can be used as nanoconverters, changing FRET signals into a voltage which can be detected by other devices. The second issue concerns FRET signal generation. In FRET nanocommunication experiments so far, a FRET transmission was initiated by an external laser source, which is rather troublesome inside a human body. Instead, we propose bioluminescent luciferase molecules as FRET transmitters, which are able to generate FRET signals themselves, taking energy from chemical reactions. We further discuss medical in-body systems where such FRET-based communication between luciferases and channelrhodopsins might be applied. We consider a system of small vesicles, liposomes, circulating through human vascular system and collecting data about body condition. The data gathered by liposomes are delivered to a detector placed in a human vein. Data transmission is realized by a luciferase-channelrhodopsin FRET interface. We model layers of luciferase and channelrhodopsin molecules based on their molecular structures and then we use their spectral characteristics to assess the e...

Light Energy Driven Nanocommunications With FRET in Photosynthetic Systems

“…The experiments are performed on a well-known structure, photosystem II (PSII) complex, containing photosynthetic molecules such as chlorophylls and carotenoids communicating via FRET. While FRET has been already studied for nanocommunications in some artificial, non-photosynthetic systems (AlexaFluor, DyLight or GFP proteins [13,14]), here we provide evidence that such a transfer between carotenoids and chlorophylls is about 2 orders of magnitude faster than already reported [13,14] and about 30 times more energy-efficient than reported in [15].…”

“…A broad overview of FRET-based communications can be found in [37] with the focus on networking and architecture aspects, as well as on applications. Also, interesting interfacing techniques between fluorescent molecules with bioluminescent stimulation and some larger medical systems are discussed in [38] and [15], connecting FRET-based networks with neurons as well [39]. A broad discussion on interfaces between FRET-type communications and other networks can be found in [12].…”

From Nano-Communications to Body Area Networks: A Perspective on Truly Personal Communications

“…Such a channel remains open by at least 10 ms, which is enough for the flowing ions to change the electrical potential at the other side of the ion channel. Furthermore, channelrhodopsins can be activated by FRET as well [80]. From the nano-communications viewpoint, channelrhodopsins can be then understood as light-to-voltage converters.…”

“…In effect, a single luciferase can pass only around 1 bit/s, comparing with over 10 Mbit/s for a typical FRET transfer. Second, similarly to FRET, communication distances for BRET are below 10 nm [80].…”

“…The full cycle of a channelrhodopsin, from closed to open and then closed and able to accept stimuli, is as long as 5 s [81], thus, the throughput of data transferred via a single channelrhodopsin remains far below 1 bit/s. A solution can be a large layer of channelrhodopsin molecules working in parallel [80], which has been shown to have a throughput of about 50 bit/s, achieved with a bit error ratio kept below 10 -3 .…”