Patent Document ID: 8311790
Application ID: 12422772
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of optimizing a genome-scale metabolic network model for a cell, comprising the steps of: obtaining the genome-scale metabolic network model for the cell; determining the pH of the extracellular environment of the cell; determining a specific proton flux as a function of the total extracellular hydrogen ion concentration, wherein the total extracellular hydrogen ion concentration is the sum of the free proton concentration and the concentrations of protonated weak acids, wherein the weak acids comprise butyric acid, acetic acid, lactic acid, carbonic acid, ammonium ion, monobasic potassium phosphate, and dibasic potassium phosphate; and optimizing with a computer the genome-scale metabolic network model by limiting the number of possible solutions to a flux balancing equation based on the determined pH of the extracellular environment of the cell and the determined specific proton flux, whereby an optimized genome-scale metabolic network model is generated on the computer.