Detection and Amplification of Molecular Signals Using Cooperating Nano-devices

We analyze the performance of a network of very simple nano-devices that cooperate to detect and/or amplify the presence of target molecules. The nano-devices only have the capability to detect a single type of molecules and in response release molecules. Furthermore, each device has a binary operation, and releases all of its stored molecules in response to a single detection. Nevertheless, the network establishes a complex behavior through cooperation between the devices (without additional device complexity). Analysis reveals that depending on the network parameters, the network can implement a mass amplifier (that releases an amount of molecules that is proportional to the input mass) or a binary detector (that generates a macro level response to the presence of a small mass of target molecules). We characterize the network behavior and derive exact expressions for the variance of the response and the miss-detection probability.