Synchronization of Inhibitory Molecular Spike Oscillators

Molecular communication is the process of transmitting information by modulating the concentration of molecules over time. Molecular communication is suitable for autonomous nanomachines which are limited in size and capability and for interfacing with biological systems which perform functions controlled or influenced by molecules. Some functions may require nanomachines to perform sequential processes. Molecular communication can be used to synchronize multiple nanomachines and to coordinate the timing of the functionality. In this paper, transmitters self-oscillate by releasing a spike of negative autoregulating molecules when concentration of the molecule is below a threshold. When the concentration from a spike disperses and decreases below the threshold, the transmitter releases another spike of molecules. When the environment includes two transmitters, the oscillations of the two transmitters achieve in-phase or anti-phase synchronization depending on the distance between the transmitter and receiver. When there are multiple transmitters arranged in a circle, the oscillations of the transmitters produce in-phase or partially in-phase synchronization. Simulations were performed to characterize the period of oscillation and the phase difference in the oscillations of multiple transmitters.