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3 - Molecular communication in biological systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2013

Tadashi Nakano ,
Andrew W. Eckford  and
Tokuko Haraguchi
Tadashi Nakano
Affiliation:
University of Osaka, Japan
Andrew W. Eckford
Affiliation:
York University, Toronto
Tokuko Haraguchi
Affiliation:
National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Hyogo, Japan
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Summary

Molecular communication occurs ubiquitously at all levels of biological systems including molecule, cell, tissue, and organ levels. In this chapter, we examine how bionanomachines or a system of bio-nanomachines communicate using molecules. First, we introduce two dimensions to characterize molecular communication systems: scale and mode. The scale refers to the range of distances over which bio-nanomachines communicate by propagating molecules, and it is roughly divided into intracellular, intercellular, and inter-organ levels. The mode of molecular communication systems refers to how molecules propagate between bio-nanomachines; it is either passively or actively. We then go over, from a communication engineering perspective, a number of examples of molecular communication systems found in nature. Following the previous chapter, basic biology terms are in bold in this chapter.

3.1 Scales of molecular communication

Molecular communication in a human body can be studied at three structurally different levels: intracellular, intercellular, and inter-organ levels, which are respectively, molecular communication within a cell (up to the size of a cell about 100 μm), between nearby cells (up to a population of cells, from a few μm to 10 mm or longer), and between distant cells (up to a few meters).

At the intracellular level, a number of sub-cellular bio-nanomachines within a cell communicate to sustain the life of the cell. At this level, physically separated bio-nanomachines interact directly through diffusion and collision or indirectly by propagating diffusive molecules.

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Molecular Communication , pp. 36 - 51
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2013

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