Exergy and exergy cost analysis of biochemical networks in living systems far from equilibrium

Whilst humanity has reached a high level of technological development, finding efficient substitutes to petroleum energy is a challenging task. In this context, metabolically engineered microorganisms are used in biomass production. Considering the availability of data in genomic and metabolic fronts, Escherichia.Coli is one of the primary options for biofuel production, which could be later exploited as a solo' energy source, or coupled with nowadays available fuels. To survive, an organism must provide an amount of exergy greater than the exergy required to process equilibrium operations. Therefore, extra exergy amounts are needed for a living system to accomplish production, growth and evolution in time, as the above mentioned process is highly irreversible. This paper reviews the available studies on exergy analysis and exergy-cost theory-ECT application, along with the use of flux balance analysis-FBA and flux variability analysis-FVA, as a tool for gaining biological insights. Th...