Boolean circuits in colloidal mixtures of ZnO and proteinoids

Fortulan, Raphael; Raeisi Kheirabadi, Noushin; Mougkogiannis, Panagiotis; Chiolerio, Alessandro; Adamatzky, Andrew

Abstract

Liquid computers use incompressible fluids for computational processes. Here, we present experimental laboratory prototypes of liquid computers using colloids composed of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles and microspheres containing thermal proteins (proteinoids). The choice of proteinoids is based on their distinctive neuron-like electrical behavior and their similarity to protocells. In addition, ZnO nanoparticles are chosen for their nontrivial electrical properties. Our research demonstrates the successful extraction of 2-, 4-, and 8-bit logic functions in ZnO proteinoid colloids. Our analysis shows that each material has a distinct set of logic functions and that the complexity of the expressions is directly related to each material present in a mixture. Our study shows that 2-, 4-, and 8-bit logic functions can be successfully extracted from ZnO proteinoid colloids. These findings provide a basis for the development of future hybrid liquid devices capable of general-purpose computing.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 1, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Oct 1, 2024
• Publication Date: Oct 15, 2024
• Deposit Date: Apr 25, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 25, 2025
• Journal: ACS Omega
• Electronic ISSN: 2470-1343
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 41
• Pages: 42127–42136
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.4c02468
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/13283303