Issue 48, 2020

The diffusion of doxorubicin drug molecules in silica nanoslits is non-Gaussian, intermittent and anticorrelated

Abstract

In this study we investigate, using all-atom molecular-dynamics computer simulations, the in-plane diffusion of a doxorubicin drug molecule in a thin film of water confined between two silica surfaces. We find that the molecule diffuses along the channel in the manner of a Gaussian diffusion process, but with parameters that vary according to its varying transversal position. Our analysis identifies that four Gaussians, each describing particle motion in a given transversal region, are needed to adequately describe the data. Each of these processes by itself evolves with time at a rate slower than that associated with classical Brownian motion due to a predominance of anticorrelated displacements. Long adsorption events lead to ageing, a property observed when the diffusion is intermittently hindered for periods of time with an average duration which is theoretically infinite. This study presents a simple system in which many interesting features of anomalous diffusion can be explored. It exposes the complexity of diffusion in nanoconfinement and highlights the need to develop new understanding.

Graphical abstract: The diffusion of doxorubicin drug molecules in silica nanoslits is non-Gaussian, intermittent and anticorrelated

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 7 2020
Accepted
15 9 2020
First published
17 9 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2020,22, 27955-27965

The diffusion of doxorubicin drug molecules in silica nanoslits is non-Gaussian, intermittent and anticorrelated

A. Díez Fernández, P. Charchar, A. G. Cherstvy, R. Metzler and M. W. Finnis, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2020, 22, 27955 DOI: 10.1039/D0CP03849K

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