Chemotaxis-Driven Molecular Communication in Nanonetworks: Simulating E. coli Behavior and Performance

Bacteria-based nanonetworks (BN) show significant potential for revolutionizing nanoscale communication, particularly in fields like medicine and environmental monitoring. This study models the chemotaxis of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in a 2D environment using a customdeveloped MATLAB simulation to understand communication effectiveness. We investigate the impact of chemoattractant release rate $(Q)$, transmitter-receiver distance $(d)$, and bacterial lifespan. Key findings reveal a trade-off between communication range and energy consumption: while higher Q values extend range, they also increase resource usage. A Q value of $10^{-14} \mathrm{~mol} / \mathrm{s}$ is identified as providing a balanced approach. Furthermore, simulations highlight that bacterial lifespan inherently limits longer communication range, suggesting the potential for nanomachine relays in future BN designs. Future research will expand these models to incorporate 3D environments and multi-bacterium interactions, enhancing their applicability for real-world scenarios.