TY  - JOUR
A1  - Fernandez, Amanda Diez
A1  - Charchar, Patrick
A1  - Cherstvy, Andrey G.
A1  - Metzler, Ralf
A1  - Finnis, Michael W.
T1  - The diffusion of doxorubicin drug molecules in silica nanoslits is non-Gaussian, intermittent and anticorrelated
JF  - Physical chemistry, chemical physics
N2  - 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.
Y1  - 2020
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1039/d0cp03849k
SN  - 1463-9076
SN  - 1463-9084
VL  - 22
IS  - 48
SP  - 27955
EP  - 27965
PB  - Royal Society of Chemistry
CY  - Cambridge
ER  -