Signalling is nothing without control...

Mathematical modelling page

Mathematical modelling plays nowadays a central role in Synthetic Biology, due to its ability to serve as a crucial link between the concept and realization of a biological circuit. According to this, after a brief overview about the advantages that modelling engineered circuits can bring, we deeply analyze the system of equation formulas, underlining the role and the function of the parameters involved.
Then, experimental procedures for parameters estimation are presented and, finally, different types of circuit are discussed and their simulations performed, using ODE's with MATLAB and explainig the difference between a closed-loop model and an open one.

The importance of the mathematical model

Several motivations are strong enough to accept the idea that mathematical model is very useful in this study

• Firstly, beacuse of its capability to predict the kinetics of enzymes involved in our gene nertwork (aiiA, Luxi) and the shape of the activation curve of the promoters (Plux, Ptet). Furthermore, this feature has been exploited not only after parametric estimation (a-posteriori identification), but also in the first steps of the project, realizing the a-priori identification in order to understand if the complex circuit's structure and functioning could be achievable.