As a result of recent advances in MEMS/NEMS and systems biology, as well as the emergence of synthetic bacteria and lab/process-on-a-chip techniques, it is now possible to design chemical “circuits”, custom organisms, micro/nanoscale swarms of devices, and a host of other new systems at small length scales, and across multiple scales (e.g., micro to macro). This success opens up a new frontier for interdisciplinary signaling techniques using chemistry, biology, novel electron transfer, and other principles not previously examined.

This journal is devoted to the principles, design, and analysis of signaling and information systems that use physics beyond conventional electromagnetism, particularly for small-scale and multi-scale applications. This includes: molecular, quantum, and other physical, chemical and biological (and biologically-inspired) techniques; as well as new signaling techniques at these scales.

As the boundaries between communication, sensing and control are blurred in these novel signaling systems, research contributions in a variety of areas are invited. Original research articles on one or more of the following topics are within the scope of the journal: mathematical modeling, information/communication-theoretic or network-theoretic analysis, networking, implementations and laboratory experiments, systems biology, data-starved or data-rich statistical analyses of biological systems, industrial applications, biological circuits, biosystems analysis and control, information/communication theory for analysis of biological systems, unconventional electromagnetism for small or multi-scale applications, and experiment-based studies on information processes or networks in biology. Contributions on related topics would also be considered for publication.

Special Issue on The Internet of BioNanoThings – Applications, Components, and Challenges
Submission Date: 2025-04-15

One of the most fascinating envisioned applications of Molecular Communications (MC) is the realization of the Internet of BioNanoThings (IoBNT) which is expected to significantly extend the reach of digitalization and to have a strong influence on the evolution of digital health in society. The IoBNT should allow the detection and treatment of diseases inside the human body based on the communication between an in-body network of nanodevices and an external control unit. The in-body network includes synthetic or biological sensors and actuators fixed in or moving through the cardiovascular system to detect biomarkers and provide localized and personalized treatment.

The technical feasibility of the IoBNT requires the deployment of an MC network inside the body, a gateway between the inner and the outer network, and suitable and secure communication protocols for the involved monitoring and control processes. Next to these technical challenges, also societal questions concerning the privacy of sensitive data and ethical issues have to be taken into account. All of these challenges are of interdisciplinary nature and their solution requires the close collaboration of researchers from engineering and life sciences.

This Special Issue aims to address the topic from a holistic point of view and to facilitate the interaction between researchers from MC and life sciences. Therefore, we welcome a variety of topics related to applications within the IoBNT. To this end, we invite submissions on the following topics (but are not limited to):

    Applications and concepts for the IoBNT
    Communication protocols for the IoBNT
    Gateway design and communication interfaces for the IoBNT
    Information theoretical limits of in-body to out-of-body communication
    Experimental design of communication nodes (transmitters, receivers, relays) for the IoBNT
    Security and privacy issues in the IoBNT
    Edge and Cloud Computing for IoBNT
    Materials and devices for IoBNT
    Engineering biosensors for IoBNT
    AI and Machine Learning in IoBNT

Submission Guidelines

Prospective authors should submit their manuscripts following the IEEE TMBMC guidelines. Authors should submit a manuscript trough Manuscript Central.

Important Dates

Manuscript Submission Deadline: 15 April 2025 
First Notification: 15 June 2025 
Acceptance Notification: 15 August 2025 
Final Manuscript Due: 10 September 2025 
Publication Date: December 2025

Guest Editors

Maximilian Schäfer
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany

Robert Schober
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany

Laura Galluccio
University of Catania, Italy

Falko Dressler
Technical University of Berlin, Germany

Stefan Fischer
University of Lübeck, Germany

Cyrus Khandanpour
University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Germany