Metabolic Networks, Elementary Flux Modes, and Polyhedral Cones

Fundamental objects called elementary flux modes (EFMs) can be described mathematically via convex cone concepts; the fundamental algorithm of this relationship is the Double Description method. While this method has an extended history in the field of computational geometry, this monograph addresses its relatively recent use in the context of cellular metabolism, providing an easy-to-read introduction to a central topic of mathematical systems biology.

Metabolic Networks, Elementary Flux Modes, and Polyhedral Cones addresses important topics in the mathematical description of metabolic activity that have not previously appeared in unified form and presents a careful study of the Double Description method in the context of metabolic analysis. It makes mathematical aspects of the material readily accessible to bioengineers and system biologists, and biological aspects readily accessible to mathematicians.

This book is intended for readers from both mathematical and biological backgrounds, including mathematicians, engineers, and biologists interested in cell metabolism. It will also be helpful to mathematicians interested in applying computational geometry methods in computational biology as well as for systems biologists and modelers interested in the mathematical and algorithmic foundations of metabolic pathway analysis.