A Design Tool Utilizing Stoichiometric Structure for the Analysis of Biochemical Reaction Networks

Abstract

A method is proposed for the analysis of possible distributions of products in biochemical reaction networks using linear optimization techniques. Software to assist in the conduct of this analysis was developed. Several biochemical systems were analyzed to examine the effects of different constraining situations. Software was developed to simplify and reduce the manual data manipulation needed to conduct this analysis. The software consists of two major components: a specially constructed database and a commercial linear optimization package. The database program was constructed to store and manipulate information on chemical species and on the reactions involving them. The database can assemble information about many reactions to form a stoichiometric model of a reaction network. The solution provides information on the overall reaction the network performs as well as the relative rates of the individual reactions within the network. Several biochemical reaction networks were examined. A proposed pathway for the biosynthetic production of astaxanthin, a natural red pigment was analyzed. Penicillin production was examined for the effects of various carbon and reduction/oxidation limits. The production of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) was examined with the pathway for 1,3-PD overlaid onto the general metabolic pathways of Escherichia coli. Keywords: Quantitative analysis, Chemical analysis, Biochemical reaction networks, Metabolic pathway engineering, Pathway toolbox program, MINOS, Optimization package, HyperCard, Apple computers, Computer programming and software. Theses.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 20, 1990
Accession Number
ADA223873

Entities

People

  • Stephen E. Kelly

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Alcohols
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Cells
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Computer Programming
  • Computers
  • Databases
  • Fish
  • Fungi
  • Linear Programming
  • Mathematical Models
  • Metabolism
  • Organic Chemistry

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Engineering

Readers

  • Database Systems and Applications
  • Electrochemical Engineering/ Fuel Cell Technologies
  • Microbial Pathology