Measurements on MIMO-FRET Nano-Networks Based on Alexa Fluor Dyes

Nanocommunication has gained significant attention in the last few years, as a means to establish information transfer between future nanomachines. Comparing with other communication techniques for nanoscale (calcium ions signaling, molecular or catalytic nanomotors, pheromones propagation, bacteria-based communication), the phenomenon called Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) offers significantly smaller propagation delays and high channel throughput. In this paper, we report our recent experiments on FRET-based nanonetworks performed in the Laboratory of Cell Biophysics of the Jagiellonian University, Kraków. We propose to use Alexa Fluor dyes as nano transmitters and receivers, as they enable to create multiple-input multioutput (MIMO) FRET communication channels and thus enhance FRET efficiency. We measure FRET efficiency values, calculate bit error rates for the measured scenarios, and extend the calculations to consider a general case of MIMO (n, m) FRET channels.