DYNAMIC ANALYSIS AND CONTROL OF CHEMICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL REACTION NETWORKS

Metabolic or cell signalling pathways are examples of biochemical networks exhibiting possible complex dynamics in the form of steady-state multiplicity, sustained oscillations or even deterministic chaos. The origin of these nonlinear phenomena is not always well understood, nor it can be systematically predicted beyond a case by case basis. Despite considerable progress in dynamic aspects, efforts are still needed to develop efficient and robust methods of stabilization and control of reaction networks. In this work, we combine concepts and tools from irreversible thermodynamics and systems theory to explore the underlying dynamic properties of a general class of chemical and biochemical networks. Lyapunov and passivity based methods are given for the systematic design of globally stabilizing feedback controllers in both the concentration space and a novel minimal description of the kinetic networks dynamics: the reaction space.