Ghaffarinasab, S.; Dourado, H.

Computational models are essential for understanding the complex biochemical processes that govern cell growth. Growth Balance Analysis (GBA) offers a general mathematical framework for efficiently modeling balanced cell growth by integrating metabolism, protein synthesis requirements, dilution of all cellular components due to growth, and the nonlinear dependence of reaction rates on metabolite concentrations. The computational implementation of this framework has been however limited by demanding some level of programming expertise. Here we present Cell Growth Simulator, a web-based application that streamlines the construction and analysis of GBA models through an intuitive interface and interactive visualizations, including customizable plots and pathway maps for interpreting optimization results. The platform makes nonlinear modeling of resource allocation in coarse-grained models of growing cells accessible to a broader scientific audience, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and advancing our understanding of cellular metabolism and growth. Cell Growth Simulator is freely available at: https://cellgrowthsim.com/.