Lifetime Improvement of a Multiple Transmitter Local Drug Delivery System Based on Diffusive Molecular Communication

Abstract

In this paper, a multiple transmitter local drug delivery system associated with encapsulated drug transmitters is investigated. One of the limitations of drug delivery systems is the reservoir capacity. In order to improve the lifetime of drug transmitting nanomachines, and, hence, the longevity of drug delivery scenario, the system is associated with encapsulated drug transmitters. Encapsulated drugs are incapable of reaction with the environment unless they are unpacked in a drug transmitter nanomachine. Therefore, far-reaching transmitters do not have harmful effects on the healthy parts of the body. The advantage of this protocol is to increase the time interval between consecutive administrations without increased toxicity. As a result, it improves the mental health of patients and reduces the costs of treatment. The lifetime of this drug delivery system depends on the distribution and topology of encapsulated drug transmitters rather than their rates. Finally, a lower bound is derived on the expected lifetime of a Poisson distributed random network of nanomachines.