Characterization of a cellular array of dipoles for molecular information processing

A physical system consisting of a lipid monolayer surrounded by a set of electrodes is defined and proposed as a plausible example of a molecular circuit for information processing. The lipid monolayer is characterized as a cellular array of electric dipoles, where each dipole lying on the monolayer plane represents the head of a lipid molecule. Each dipole experiences the effects of the electric field generated by both the surrounding dipoles and the electrodes. The electrodes’ contribution to the electric field is calculated through a proper discretization of their charge densities. According to this model the dipoles of the cellular array play the role of neurodes whose state is described by the dipole orientations on the plane, and a cellular automation can be defined once the orientation values have been properly discretized. The electrodes act as input‐ and output‐signal sources. it is shown that the simple system considered here, i.e., a two‐port system, is characterized by a nonlinear voltage tran...