Numerical analysis of artificial enzyme membrane — Hysteresis, oscillations and spontaneous structuration

Abstract

It is interesting at both physical and biological points of view to study instabilities and possibilities of multiple solutions in systems ruled by partial differential equations. In this way, artificial enzyme membranes or at least artificial immobilization of the enzymes could be a mean to study this kind of phenomena, because enzyme kinetics are frequently non-linear or autocatalytic and the systems are ruled by diffusion-reaction coupling, that is to say by partial differential equations. Moreover it is easily possible to change the boundary conditions, so critical for these kinds of systems. For artificial enzyme membranes, due to the well-defined context it is possible to write in a simple way equations ruling the systems and to compare calculated and experimental results. This work is also of stage between the classical enzymology in solution and the study of properties of enzymes in very complex distributed biological systems.