Mass action realizations of reaction kinetic system models on various time scales

Abstract

Complex chemical reaction networks often exhibit different dynamic behaviour on different time scales. A combined approach is proposed in this work for determining physically meaningful mass action realizations of complex chemical reaction networks that describe its dynamic behaviour on different time scales. This is achieved by appropriately reducing the detailed overall mass action kinetic scheme using quasi steady state assumptions fit to the particular time scale, and then searching for an optimal realization using mixed integer linear programing. Furthermore, the relationship between the properties (reversibility, deficiency, stability) of the obtained realizations of the same system on different time scales are also investigated and related to the same properties of the detailed overall model. It is shown that the reduced models obtained by quasi steady state assumptions may show exotic nonlinear behaviour, such as oscillations, when the original detailed is globally asymptotically stable. The proposed methods are illustrated by using a simple Michaelis-Menten type reaction kinetic example. The simplified versions of the well known Brusselator model have also been investigated and presented as a case study. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.