Molecular communication via microtubules and physical contact in nanonetworks: A survey

Advancements in nanotechnology have promised the building of nanomachines capable of carrying out simple tasks. Final goals of using these nanomachines in applications such as monitoring body tissues, drug delivery or other complicated applications need them to do complex tasks. A feasible way to have them cooperate and do complex tasks is to interconnect them by building a nanonetwork. As nanomachines can only carry out simple tasks, nanonetworks bring up new issues in networking and communication. There have been many papers addressing solutions for communication challenges in nanonetworks and analysing their characteristics. At this stage, going towards higher goals needs a comprehensive look at the literature and state of the art in the field. In this paper, we present an inclusive look at issues introduced and analysed in nanonetworks. We focus on two methods which provide properties needed in nanonetworks efficiently, namely communication via microtubules and physical contact.