Effects of an Imposed Flow on Chemical Oscillations Generated by Enzymatic Reactions

Using analytical and computational models, we determine how externally imposed flows affect chemical oscillations that are generated by two enzyme-coated patches within a fluid-filled millimeter sized channel. The fluid flow affects the advective contribution to the flux of chemicals in the channel and, thereby, modifies the chemical reactions. Here, we show that changes in the flow velocity permit control over the chemical oscillations by broadening the range of parameters that give rise to oscillatory behavior, increasing the frequency of oscillations, or suppressing the oscillations all together. Notably, simply accelerating the flow along the channel transforms time-independent distributions of reagents into pronounced chemical oscillations. These findings can facilitate the development of artificial biochemical networks that act as chemical clocks.