2025/01/31 by Maide Miray Albay, Eren Akyol, Albay, Maide Miray +7
Engineering · #Emerging Technologies (cs.ET) #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Innovative Microfluidic and Catalytic Techniques Innovation #Microfluidic and Capillary Electrophoresis Applications #Molecular Communication and Nanonetworks
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2501.19341
openalex publication_date 2025/01/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Molecular Communications (MC), transferring information via chemical signals, holds promise for transformative healthcare applications within the Internet of Bio-Nano Things (IoBNT) framework. Despite promising advances toward practical MC systems, progress has been constrained by experimental testbeds that are costly, difficult to customize, and require labor-intensive fabrication. Here, we address these challenges by introducing a low-cost (∼$1 per unit), rapidly fabricated (<1 hour), and highly customizable microfluidic testbed that integrates hydrodynamic gating and screen-printed potentiometric sensors. This platform enables precise spatiotemporal control over chemical signals and supports reconfigurable channel architectures along with on-demand sensor functionalization. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate a pH-based MC system combining a polyaniline (PANI)-functionalized sensor for real-time signal detection with a programmable hydrodynamic gating architecture, patterned in a double-sided adhesive tape, as the transmitter. By dynamically mixing phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) with an acidic solution (pH 3), the testbed reliably generates pH-encoded pulses. Experimental results confirm robust control over pulse amplitude and pulse width, enabling the simulation of end-to-end MC scenarios with 4-ary concentration shift keying (CSK) modulation. By combining affordability and rapid prototyping without compromising customizability, this platform is poised to accelerate the translation of MC concepts into practical IoBNT applications.