In biological or abiotic systems, rhythms occur, owing
to the coupling
between positive and negative feedback loops in a reaction network.
Using the Semenov–Whitesides oscillatory network for thioester
hydrolysis as a prototype, we experimentally and theoretically analyzed
the role of fast and slow inhibitors in oscillatory reaction networks.
In the presence of positive feedback, a single fast inhibitor generates
a time delay, resulting in two saddle-node bifurcations and bistability
in a continuously stirred tank reactor. A slow inhibitor produces
a node-focus bifurcation, resulting in damped oscillations. With both
fast and slow inhibitors present, the node-focus bifurcation repeatedly
modulates the saddle-node bifurcations, producing stable periodic
oscillations. These fast and slow inhibitions result in a pair of
time delays between steeply ascending and descending dynamics, which
originate from the positive and negative feedbacks, respectively.
This pattern can be identified in many chemical relaxation oscillators
and oscillatory models, e.g., the bromate–sulfite pH oscillatory
system, the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction, the trypsin oscillatory
system, and the Boissonade–De Kepper model. This study provides
a novel understanding of chemical and biochemical rhythms and suggests
an approach to designing such behavior.