The computation of stability boundaries in state space for a class of biochemical engineering systems

The stability of a class of biochemical processes defined by a set of m biochemical reactions involving n components is analysed. The processes operate in a continuous mode and possess at least two stable equilibrium states: the normal operating point and a biological wash out state. Using a canonical state representation of the process dynamics the geometric structure of the operating point's stability boundary is characterized. Numerical algorithms are developed to evaluate this boundary and to visualize its extent in state space. The proposed technique is illustrated with a representative engineering example.