Introduction to Mathematical Oncology

Chapter 12

Chemical Kinetics

12.1 Introduction and the law of mass action

By chemical kinetics, we mean the study of the rates of chemical reactions. Chemical kinetics are fundamental to understanding biochemical and enzymatic reactions in living systems, and ideas from chemical kinetics have been widely used to describe (with varying validity) interactions between other biological agents, such as infection of healthy cells by virions. Similar discussions of this topic can be found in other textbooks, such as Keener and Sneyd [1] or Nelson and Cox [2]. Of central importance is the law of mass action, which essentially states that two chemical species react at a rate proportional to their concentration. In the simple case of species A and B reacting ...