Learning From Nature: Energy Harvesting and Intersymbol Interference Mitigation via Reuptake of Information Molecules in Diffusive Molecular Communication Systems

在合成扩散分子通信（DMC）系统的设计中的一个主要挑战是由分子扩散的色散性质引起的码间干扰。自然界已经为天然DMC系统开发了科普该问题的解决方案。在某些化学突触中发现了一个有趣的解决方案，其中信息分子通过将它们运送回突触前细胞而从突触空间中移除，这有助于它们的回收以供将来重新使用，并且可以被解释为能量收集的一种形式。在多巴胺能突触中，这一过程由多巴胺转运蛋白（DAT）控制，并构成突触中多巴胺（DA）神经递质分子的主要调节因子。这种调节机制的重要性从与运输机制失调有关的许多疾病中显而易见。本项目的主要目标是研究分子再摄取对自然和合成DMC系统中的符号间干扰缓解和能量收集的宏观影响。虽然开发的概念和分析将尽可能一般，特别注意将给予DA/DAT系统，因为它的生理重要性和丰富的可用的实验研究，可用于验证开发的模型和结果。该项目的成果将提高我们对天然DMC系统中分子再吸收影响的理解，并为合成DMC系统提供新的设计选择。

A major challenge in the design of synthetic diffusive molecular communication (DMC) systems is the intersymbol interference caused by the dispersive nature of molecule diffusion. Solutions to cope with this problem have been developed by nature for natural DMC systems. One interesting solution is found in certain chemical synapses where the information molecules are removed from the synaptic space by transporting them back into the presynaptic cell which facilitates their recycling for future reuse and can be interpreted as a form of energy harvesting. In dopaminergic synapses, this process is controlled by the dopamine transporter (DAT) protein and constitutes the major regulator of the dopamine (DA) neurotransmitter molecules in the synapse. The importance of this regulatory mechanism is evident from the numerous diseases associated with dysregulations of the transport mechanism. The main objective of the present project is to investigate the macroscopic effects of molecule reuptake on intersymbol interference mitigation and energy harvesting in natural and synthetic DMC systems. Although the developed concepts and analyses will be made as general as possible, special attention will be given to the DA/DAT system because of its physiological importance and the abundance of available experimental studies, which can be used for verification of the developed models and results. The outcomes of this project will improve our understanding of the impact of molecule reuptake in natural DMC systems and provide new design options for synthetic DMC systems.