A Role for Bottom-Up Synthetic Cells in the Internet of Bio-Nano Things?

The potential role of bottom-up Synthetic Cells (SCs) in the Internet of Bio-Nano Things (IoBNT) is discussed. In particular, this perspective paper focuses on the growing interest in networks of biological and/or artificial objects at the micro- and nanoscale (cells and subcellular parts, microelectrodes, microvessels, etc.), whereby communication takes place in an unconventional manner, i.e., via chemical signaling. The resulting "molecular communication" (MC) scenario paves the way to the development of innovative technologies that have the potential to impact biotechnology, nanomedicine, and related fields. The scenario that relies on the interconnection of natural and artificial entities is briefly introduced, highlighting how Synthetic Biology (SB) plays a central role. SB allows the construction of various types of SCs that can be designed, tailored, and programmed according to specific predefined requirements. In particular, "bottom-up" SCs are briefly described by commenting on the principles of their design and fabrication and their features (in particular, the capacity to exchange chemicals with other SCs or with natural biological cells). Although bottom-up SCs still have low complexity and thus basic functionalities, here, we introduce their potential role in the IoBNT. This perspective paper aims to stimulate interest in and discussion on the presented topics. The article also includes commentaries on MC, semantic information, minimal cognition, wetware neuromorphic engineering, and chemical social robotics, with the specific potential they can bring to the IoBNT

Extending Human Perception of Electromagnetic Radiation to the UV Region through Biologically Inspired Photochromic Fuzzy Logic (BIPFUL) Systems.

Photochromic Fuzzy Logic Systems have been designed that extend human visual perception into the UV region. The systems are founded on a detailed knowledge of the activation wavelengths and quantum yields of a series of thermally reversible photochromic compounds. By appropriate matching of the photochromic behaviour unique colour signatures are generated in response differing UV activation frequencies

Molecular-based upconversion in homo/heterogeneous liquids and in micro/nanostructured solid materials

Radiation upconversion can be an elegant and efficient strategy to minimize waste in energy harvesting and storage processes. The upconversion based on triplet-triplet annihilation processes of molecular dyes is a very versatile approach, but it requires a systematic photophysical characterization of the systems to optimize the upconversion yields and develop materials for technological applications. This paper represents an overview of the work carried out in our laboratories for the study and characterization of a molecular dye pair, 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-21H,23H-porphyrin platinum(ii) (PtOEP) and 1,3,6,8-tetraphenylpyrene (TPPy), suitable as the sensitizer and emitter, respectively, in a triplet-triplet annihilation based upconversion process. The investigation has been carried out in various media with increasing complexity. First, we used the dye pair to characterize the UC-efficiencies in homogeneous solvents of different viscosities and in oil-in-water microemulsions; then we explored the possibility to achieve upconversion in solid materials, like nanostructured silica matrices and liquid filled microcapsules. The possibility to achieve upconversion emission even in confined and rigid media has been confirmed and can inspire further applications of the process

Mimicking the Secretory Action of a Gland by a CompositeSystem Made of a pH-Responsive Surfactant-Based Hydrogel and a DialysisMembrane

The hydrogel obtained by a zwitterionic N-oxide surfactant is proposed as the core of a pH-responsive artificial gland model. The viscosity and pH variations, induced by pulse additions of acid and base, are investigated by a pyridinium salt and alizarin red S, respectively. The artificial gland model is implemented by enclosing the gel within a dialysis membrane, and its secretory action is tested by monitoring the release of a fluorescent acridinium salt

The Fuzziness of the Molecular World and Its Perspectives

Scientists want to comprehend and control complex systems. Their success depends on the ability to face also the challenges of the corresponding computational complexity. A promising research line is artificial intelligence (AI). In AI, fuzzy logic plays a significant role because it is a suitable model of the human capability to compute with words, which is relevant when we make decisions in complex situations. The concept of fuzzy set pervades the natural information systems (NISs), such as living cells, the immune and the nervous systems. This paper describes the fuzziness of the NISs, in particular of the human nervous system. Moreover, it traces three pathways to process fuzzy logic by molecules and their assemblies. The fuzziness of the molecular world is useful for the development of the chemical artificial intelligence (CAI). CAI will help to face the challenges that regard both the natural and the computational complexity

Establishing a New Link between Fuzzy Logic, Neuroscience, and Quantum Mechanics through Bayesian Probability: Perspectives in Artificial Intelligence and Unconventional Computing

Human interaction with the world is dominated by uncertainty. Probability theory is a valuable tool to face such uncertainty. According to the Bayesian definition, probabilities are personal beliefs. Experimental evidence supports the notion that human behavior is highly consistent with Bayesian probabilistic inference in both the sensory and motor and cognitive domain. All the higher-level psychophysical functions of our brain are believed to take the activities of interconnected and distributed networks of neurons in the neocortex as their physiological substrate. Neurons in the neocortex are organized in cortical columns that behave as fuzzy sets. Fuzzy sets theory has embraced uncertainty modeling when membership functions have been reinterpreted as possibility distributions. The terms of Bayes’ formula are conceivable as fuzzy sets and Bayes’ inference becomes a fuzzy inference. According to the QBism, quantum probabilities are also Bayesian. They are logical constructs rather than physical realities. It derives that the Born rule is nothing but a kind of Quantum Law of Total Probability. Wavefunctions and measurement operators are viewed epistemically. Both of them are similar to fuzzy sets. The new link that is established between fuzzy logic, neuroscience, and quantum mechanics through Bayesian probability could spark new ideas for the development of artificial intelligence and unconventional computing

Implementing Fuzzy Sets and Processing Fuzzy Logic Information by Molecules

Fuzzy logic models human capacity to make decisions using natural language, and it is widely used in the field of Artificial Intelligence. This contribution supports the hypothesis that the effectiveness of fuzzy logic in mimicking human capability to compute with words is due to the structural and functional analogies between the human nervous system and fuzzy logic systems. Furthermore, this work demonstrates that fuzzy logic can be processed by molecules and chemical reactions in wetware beyond the traditional methods based on electronic circuits and software. This innovative way of processing fuzzy logic allows the development of Chemical Artificial Intelligence and the design of new computational machines, more similar to the brain rather than electronic computers, both in composition and performance

Small steps towards the development of chemical artificial intelligent systems

Researchers working in the field of Artificial Intelligence and human-level intelligent agents are driven by the ambitious projects of understanding the foundations and running mechanisms of the human mind, and trying to reproduce them artificially. These projects have been receiving a renewed spur by the research initiative named "The Decade of the Mind" since 2007. A deep understanding of how the mind perceives, thinks, and acts, and its imitation will have a revolutionary impact in science, medicine, economic growth, security, and well-being. Our intelligence grounds on the working mechanism of the human nervous system. The human nervous system is a "computational machine" based on a complex "wetware" of neuronal cells collecting, relaying, processing and storing information under the shape of electrochemical signals. It is worthwhile trying to imitate human intelligence by using chemical systems. In this review, two types of chemical artificial intelligent systems are presented: (a) the sensing and processing properties of chromogenic and fluorogenic materials; and (b) the computational power of the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction, which is an excellent model of the neural dynamics

The Fuzziness in Molecular, Supramolecular, and Systems Chemistry

The global challenges of the XXI century require a more in-depth analysis and investigation of complex systems [...