The Dynamic Flow Equilibrium Approach to Life Processes

1 The Dynamic Flow Equilibrium Approach to Life Processes 

The so-called dynamic flow equilibrium is a basic consideration in the kinetics of biological systems following the concept of von Bertalanffy (1942) (see also Netter, 1969, and von Bertalanffy et al., 1977). The dynamic flow equilibrium takes into account once again the conservation of mass (cf. Equ. 2.3a). In open systems, with continuous input and output, reversible reactions take place, but the entire process may be irreversible because of transport. Even for the simplest stationary-state case, the reaction equation, which is 

The steady-state concentrations, Cj, are constant at constant flux. 

A time-dependent or permanent change in the dynamic equilibrium can come about only through a change in the kinetic parameters (that is, through enzyme concentration changes). From a second simple example 

Equation 5.17 shows the typical result of all open systems (living cells, continuous flow reactors), that the ratio of rate coefficients of reaction to transport determines the system behavior (cf. Equ. 4.62c). 

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