Modeling APAP Metabolism in Human Liver with Petri Nets

This paper aims to simulate the metabolism of APAP molecules in the human liver and compare the simulation results with the observed values in studies. Modeling and simulation of the metabolism of APAP molecules are usually done with differential equations as they fall into the domain of continuous systems. However, this paper uses Petri Nets as the tool for modeling and simulation. Petri Net is for discrete systems modeling. Hence, the continuous system of the metabolism of APAP molecules is discretized first so that Petri Nets can be used for modeling. This paper also uses a modular modeling approach to reduce the complexity of the model. The model is composed of three modules, and the first module models the relation between the body and the liver. The module models the APAP metabolism, while the third one models the life cycle of the cells. Also, for model implementation and simulation, the tool G PenSIM is used. The simulation results from the model show that it is in agreement with the results of the studies. The novelty of this paper is two-fold: 1) Complex continuous systems that are usually modeled with differential equations can be discretized and modeled with Petri Nets. 2) Larger discrete systems can be modeled as modular models to make them more comprehensible.