Dynamical destabilization of system characterized by activation/inhibition kinetics using a differential flow

摘要

A new method of inducing spatiotemporal structures in systems characterized by activation/inhibition kinetics through the action of a differential bulk flow of the key species is disclosed. As Turing predicted, a homogeneous and otherwise stable steady state of a reactive system may lose its stability and form inhomogeneous patterns due to the interaction of diffusion and reaction. This mechanism is believed to form the basis of biological morphogenesis. The Turing instability only arises in systems wherein the diffusion coefficient of the inhibitor is sufficiently greater than that of the activator. The method of the present invention avoids this constraint by using a differential flow between the activation and the inhibition species rather than a differential diffusivity. In one aspect of the invention, this differential flow is achieved by immobilizing one of either the inhibitor or activator species in the flow system containing the other species. The resulting destabilized system, which in this aspect is a BZ reaction, is characterized by travelling waves whose length and propagation velocity are proportional to the flow rate. Technological advantages are disclosed that arise from the operation of a kinetic system under such conditions of differential flow that give rise to the dynamical instability.