Diffusive Molecular Communication with a Spheroidal Receiver for Organ-on-Chip Systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a spheroidal receiver model for molecular communication in organ-on-chip systems, analyzing how it amplifies and disperses signals, with analytical and simulation validation.

Contribution

It proposes a novel spheroidal receiver structure inspired by spheroids in organ-on-chip systems and derives its diffusion properties analytically.

Findings

Spheroidal receiver amplifies diffusion signals.

Signal dispersal reduces communication rate.

Analytical Green's function matches particle-based simulations.

Abstract

Realistic models of the components and processes are required for molecular communication (MC) systems. In this paper, a spheroidal receiver structure is proposed for MC that is inspired by the 3D cell cultures known as spheroids being widely used in organ-on-chip systems. A simple diffusive MC system is considered where the spheroidal receiver and a point source transmitter are in an unbounded fluid environment. The spheroidal receiver is modeled as a porous medium for diffusive signaling molecules, then its boundary conditions and effective diffusion coefficient are characterized. It is revealed that the spheroid amplifies the diffusion signal, but also disperses the signal which reduces the information communication rate. Furthermore, we analytically formulate and derive the concentration Green's function inside and outside the spheroid in terms of infinite series-forms that are confirmed by a particle-based simulator (PBS).