Analysis of Molecule Harvesting by Heterogeneous Receptors on MC Transmitters

TL;DR

This paper models a molecule harvesting transmitter with heterogeneous receptors, deriving analytical expressions for molecule absorption and release, validated by simulations, revealing how receptor properties affect the received signal.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analytical model for molecule harvesting transmitters with diverse receptor configurations, applicable to various receptor arrangements.

Findings

Different vesicle generation rates yield the same total absorption

Receptor heterogeneity influences the peak received signal

Analytical results match particle-based simulation data

Abstract

This paper designs a molecule harvesting transmitter (TX) model, where the surface of a spherical TX is covered by heterogeneous receptors with different sizes and arbitrary locations. If molecules hit any receptor, they are absorbed by the TX immediately. Within the TX, molecules are stored in vesicles that are continuously generated and released by the TX via the membrane fusion process. Considering a transparent receiver (RX) and molecular degradation during the propagation from the TX to the RX, we derive the molecule release rate and the fraction of molecules absorbed by the TX as well as the received signal at the RX. Notably, this analytical result is applicable for different numbers, sizes, and locations of receptors, and its accuracy is verified via particle-based simulations. Numerical results show that different vesicle generation rates result in the same number of molecules absorbed by the TX, but different peak received signals at the RX.