Microfluidic Systems for Molecular Communications: A Review From Theory to Practice

The paper presents the significance of microfluidic technology in advancing Molecular Communications (MC). It highlights the transition from theoretical MC models to practical applications, emphasizing the role of microfluidics in validating and advancing MC concepts. The paper covers various aspects including theoretical principles, simulation tools, practical realizations, and envisioned applications. We also present various microfluidic testbeds, detailing their design, capabilities, and applications in advancing MC. To bridge the gap between theoretical models and practical outcomes in MC, this work demonstrates the potential of microfluidics in the practical realization of MC systems.

• Publication year

  2024

• Venue

  IEEE Transactions on Molecular Biological and Multi-Scale Communications

• Publication date

  2024-03-01

• Fields of study

  Physics, Computer Science, Engineering

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1109/TMBMC.2024.3368768
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• TARGETED DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM: A REVIEW

  2024cited by this paper
• Experimental Research in Synthetic Molecular Communications – Part II

  2023cited by this paper
• Salinity and Droplets: First Realization of Microfluidic Multiplexing

  2023cited by this paper
• Droplet speed-shift keying: a modulation scheme for instantaneous microfluidic communications

  2023cited by this paper
• Experimental Research in Synthetic Molecular Communications – Part I

  2023cited by this paper
• The Development of a Biocompatible Testbed for Molecular Communication With Magnetic Nanoparticles

  2023influential reference
• Towards Practical and Scalable Molecular Networks

  2023cited by this paper
• Interfacial Shift Keying Allows a High Information Rate in Molecular Communication: Methods and Data

  2023cited by this paper
• Salinity-Based Molecular Communication in Microfluidic Channels

  2023influential reference
• Switchable Signaling Molecules for Media Modulation: Fundamentals, Applications, and Research Directions

  2023cited by this paper
• Real-time signal processing via chemical reactions for a microfluidic molecular communication system

  2023cited by this paper
• A role for microfluidic systems in precision medicine

  2022cited by this paper
• MMFT Droplet Simulator: Efficient Simulation of Droplet-based Microfluidic Devices

  2022cited by this paper
• Nanosensor location in the human circulatory system based on electric circuit representation of vessels

  2022cited by this paper
• Comsol

  2021cited by this paper
• Practical Assessment of Payload- Header Switching in Microfluidic Networks

  2021cited by this paper
• Bacterial Receiver Prototype for Molecular Communication Using Rhamnose Operon in a Microfluidic Environment

  2021cited by this paper
• Fabrication and microfluidic analysis of graphene-based molecular communication receiver for Internet of Nano Things (IoNT)

  2021cited by this paper
• Transfer Function Models for Cylindrical MC Channels With Diffusion and Laminar Flow

  2020influential reference
• Chemical Reactions-Based Microfluidic Transmitter and Receiver Design for Molecular Communication

  2020cited by this paper
• Quorum Sensing Communication: Molecularly Connecting Cells, Their Neighbors, and Even Devices.

  2020cited by this paper
• Preliminary Studies on Flow Assisted Propagation of Fluorescent Microbeads in Microfluidic Channels for Molecular Communication Systems

  2020cited by this paper
• A Comprehensive Survey on Hybrid Communication in Context of Molecular Communication and Terahertz Communication for Body-Centric Nanonetworks

  2020cited by this paper
• A Survey of Molecular Communication in Cell Biology: Establishing a New Hierarchy for Interdisciplinary Applications

  2020cited by this paper
• Understanding and embracing the complexities of the molecular communication channel in liquids

  2020cited by this paper
• Deep Learning-based Human Implantable Nano Molecular Communications

  2020cited by this paper
• Colour-specific microfluidic droplet detection for molecular communication

  2020cited by this paper
• Optogenomic Interfaces: Bridging Biological Networks With the Electronic Digital World

  2019cited by this paper
• Transmitter and Receiver Architectures for Molecular Communications: A Survey on Physical Design With Modulation, Coding, and Detection Techniques

  2019cited by this paper
• Navier-Stokes Equations

  2019cited by this paper
• A Survey of Biological Building Blocks for Synthetic Molecular Communication Systems

  2019cited by this paper
• An Experimental Platform for Macro-Scale Fluidic Medium Molecular Communication

  2019cited by this paper
• Information Encoding in Droplet-Based Microfluidic Systems: First Practical Study

  2019cited by this paper
• Redox Is a Global Biodevice Information Processing Modality

  2019cited by this paper
• Advanced Simulation of Droplet Microfluidics

  2018cited by this paper
• Modeling convection-diffusion-reaction systems for microfluidic molecular communications with surface-based receivers in Internet of Bio-Nano Things

  2018cited by this paper
• Experimental Molecular Communication Testbed Based on Magnetic Nanoparticles in Duct Flow

  2018cited by this paper
• Shannon Meets Fick on the Microfluidic Channel: Diffusion Limit to Sum Broadcast Capacity for Molecular Communication

  2018cited by this paper
• A Chemical Alphabet for Macromolecular Communications.

  2018cited by this paper
• A General Analytical Approximation to Impulse Response of 3-D Microfluidic Channels in Molecular Communication

  2018cited by this paper
• Controlled communication between physically separated bacterial populations in a microfluidic device

  2018cited by this paper
• Parity-Check Coding Based on Genetic Circuits for Engineered Molecular Communication Between Biological Cells

  2018cited by this paper
• Channel Modeling for Diffusive Molecular Communication—A Tutorial Review

  2018cited by this paper
• nanoNS3: A network simulator for bacterial nanonetworks based on molecular communication

  2017cited by this paper
• Molecular Communication and Nanonetwork for Targeted Drug Delivery: A Survey

  2017cited by this paper
• Design and Fabrication of a PDMS Microfluidic Device for Titration of Biological Solutions

  2017cited by this paper
• A Novel Experimental Platform for In-Vessel Multi-Chemical Molecular Communications

  2017cited by this paper
• Porous monolith microfluidics for bacterial cell-to-cell communication assays.

  2017cited by this paper
• Simulating with AcCoRD: Actor-based Communication via Reaction-Diffusion

  2016cited by this paper
• Molecular MIMO: From Theory to Prototype

  2016cited by this paper
• BioNetGen 2.2: advances in rule-based modeling

  2015cited by this paper
• Microfluidic static droplet array for analyzing microbial communication on a population gradient.

  2015cited by this paper
• A Molecular Communications Model for Drug Delivery

  2015cited by this paper
• The internet of Bio-Nano things

  2015cited by this paper
• Genetically Engineered Bacteria-Based BioTransceivers for Molecular Communication

  2015cited by this paper
• Advances in three-dimensional rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices for biological applications

  2014cited by this paper
• A Comprehensive Survey of Recent Advancements in Molecular Communication

  2014cited by this paper
• End-to-End Propagation Noise and Memory Analysis for Molecular Communication over Microfluidic Channels

  2014cited by this paper
• Simulation study of molecular communication systems with an absorbing receiver: Modulation and ISI mitigation techniques

  2014cited by this paper
• Probing cell-cell communication with microfluidic devices.

  2013cited by this paper
• System-Theoretic Analysis and Least-Squares Design of Microfluidic Channels for Flow-Induced Molecular Communication

  2013influential reference
• Simulation of molecular signaling in blood vessels: Software design and application to atherogenesis

  2013cited by this paper
• Communications and Switching in Microfluidic Systems: Pure Hydrodynamic Control for Networking Labs-on-a-Chip

  2013cited by this paper
• Tabletop Molecular Communication: Text Messages through Chemical Signals

  2013cited by this paper
• Efficient Modeling and Simulation of Bacteria-Based Nanonetworks with BNSim

  2013cited by this paper
• Design of pressure-driven microfluidic networks using electric circuit analogy.

  2012cited by this paper
• Networked Labs-on-a-Chip (NLoC): Introducing networking technologies in microfluidic systems

  2012cited by this paper
• URDME: a modular framework for stochastic simulation of reaction-transport processes in complex geometries

  2012cited by this paper
• Exploring the Physical Channel of Diffusion-Based Molecular Communication by Simulation

  2011cited by this paper
• Soft lithography for micro- and nanoscale patterning

  2010cited by this paper
• Detailed Simulations of Cell Biology with Smoldyn 2.1

  2010cited by this paper
• Nanoparticle-based targeted drug delivery.

  2009cited by this paper
• OpenFOAM: Open source CFD in research and industry

  2009cited by this paper
• Autonomous loading, transport, and unloading of specified cargoes by using DNA hybridization and biological motor-based motility.

  2008cited by this paper
• Nanoscale Communication with Brownian Motion

  2007cited by this paper
• Quorum sensing: cell-to-cell communication in bacteria.

  2005cited by this paper
• Stochastic reaction-diffusion simulation with MesoRD

  2005cited by this paper
• Molecular Communication

  2005cited by this paper
• SmartCell, a framework to simulate cellular processes that combines stochastic approximation with diffusion and localisation: analysis of simple networks.

  2004cited by this paper

• An Experimental Tabletop Platform for Bidirectional Molecular Communication Using Advection–Diffusion Dynamics in Bio-Inspired Nanonetworks

  2026cites this paper
• Improved Performance with $\alpha, \beta$-Constrained Transmission: A Family of High-Rate Codes $\mathcal{C}_{\alpha, \beta}^{(n)}$ for Molecular Communication via Diffusion

  2025cites this paper
• Vessel Network Topology in Molecular Communication: Insights from Experiments and Theory

  2025cites this paper
• Deep Learning Surrogate for Fast CIR Prediction in Reactive Molecular Diffusion Advection Channels

  2025cites this paper
• Tradeoff Between the Number of Transmitted Molecules and the BER Performance in Molecular Communication Between Bionanosensors

  2025cites this paper
• Low-Cost Microfluidic Testbed for Molecular Communications With Integrated Hydrodynamic Gating and Screen-Printed Sensors

  2025cites this paper
• Microdroplet-Based Communications With Frequency Shift Keying Modulation

  2025cites this paper
• Communicating Smartly in Molecular Communication Environments: Neural Networks in the Internet of Bio-Nano Things

  2025cites this paper
• Cell-to-cell communication: from physical calling to remote emotional touching

  2025cites this paper
• Odor-Based Molecular Communications: State-of-the-Art, Vision, Challenges, and Frontier Directions

  2025cites this paper
• In Vivo Molecular Communication through Synthetic Biology: A Case Study

  2025cites this paper
• CNN-Based Detection of Mixed-Molecule Concentrations in Molecular Communication

  2025cites this paper
• System Modeling of Microfluidic Molecular Communication: A Markov Approach

  2025cites this paper
• On the Tail Transition of First Arrival Position Channels: From Cauchy to Exponential Decay

  2025cites this paper
• Contactless and Economical Chemical Reaction Platform Based on Ultrasonic Field

  2025cites this paper
• Experimental Characterization of Hydrodynamic Gating-Based Molecular Communication Transmitter

  2024cites this paper
• OpenFOAM Simulation of Microfluidic Molecular Communications: Method and Experimental Validation

  2024influential citation