A Petri Net Approach to Physiologically Based Toxicokinetic Modeling.

Area of Science:

• Environmental toxicology
• Computational toxicology
• Aquatic toxicology

Background:

• Physiologically based toxicokinetic (PBTK) models predict chemical concentrations in tissues.
• Current PBTK models often use complex ordinary differential equations (ODEs), posing a barrier to researchers.
• Graphical modeling offers a more intuitive approach to PBTK analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the utility and ease of use of Petri nets for PBTK modeling.
• To present a Petri net PBTK model for waterborne fluoranthene exposure in rainbow trout.
• To compare the predictive functionality of a Petri net PBTK model against an existing ODE PBTK model.

Main Methods:

• Developed a PBTK model using Petri nets in Snoopy software.
• Converted an existing ODE-based PBTK model to a Petri net framework.
• Introduced and analyzed the sensitivity of the blood volume parameter (V_BLOOD).
• Simulated and compared results from both ODE and Petri net models.

Main Results:

• The Petri net PBTK model closely mirrored the results of the ODE PBTK model.
• The introduced blood volume parameter (V_BLOOD) was found to be robust.
• Petri net models offer equivalent predictive functionality to ODE models.

Conclusions:

• Petri nets provide an intuitive and effective graphical framework for PBTK modeling.
• This approach simplifies complex toxicokinetic modeling for researchers.
• Petri net PBTK models maintain predictive accuracy while offering advantages over traditional ODE methods.