You maybe interested with my work with Terrence Bisson, we have studied closed models on various categories of graphs in particular in the category of directed graphs in which we have defined a closed model for which two finite graphs are homotopic equivalent if and only if they are isospectral.

We have define another model in the category of directed graphs related to dynamic systems which characterize the topology conjugacy class of some walkable finite graphs.

In a paper, I have defined a closed model structure which characterize strongly connected component. I have also studied closed models in the category of undirected graphs and shown that there does not exista closed model which characterize the Ihara zeta function.

Symbolic dynamics and the category of graphs
T Bisson, A Tsemo - Theory and Applications of Categories, 2011 

Homotopy equivalence of isospectral graphs
T Bisson, A Tsemo - New York J. Math, 2011

Closed models, strongly connected components and Euler graphs
T Aristide - Proyecciones (Antofagasta), 2016

Tsemo Aristide	
Applications of closed models defined by counting to graph theory and topology
Algebra Letters, Vol 2017 (2017), Article ID 2