Diffusion of individual nanoparticles in cylindrical diatom frustule

TL;DR

This study uses single particle tracking to analyze how nanoparticles diffuse inside diatom silica shells, revealing anisotropic diffusion behavior and diffusion suppression effects crucial for micro-engineering applications.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed single-particle analysis of nanoparticle diffusion within diatom frustules, highlighting anisotropic diffusion and spatial variation in mobility.

Findings

Diffusion inside frustules is suppressed but less so near the exit.

Anisotropic diffusion observed between axial and radial directions.

Single particle tracking effectively reveals diffusion characteristics.

Abstract

Diatoms are characterised by silica cell walls (frustules), which have highly ordered micro-/nano-structures. As the synthesis of such structures remains challenging, diatom frustules offer a promissing alternative to conventional porous particles in micro-/nano-engineering. In particular, for applications in drag deliverly systems, biosensors, and filters, an understanding of particle motion inside diatoms is of great impotance. In this study, we investigated nanoparticle (NP) motions inside diatom frustules using the single particle tracking (SPT) method. For these measruements, the diameter of the NP was about one-tenth smaller than that of the frustule. Inside the frustule, the diffusion motions of the NPs were suppressed, but this suppression was weakened near the exit of the frustule. Moreover, diffusion anisotropy between the axial and radial directions of the frustule was observed. This anisotropy is difficult to detect with ensemble methods; thus, the SPT method is a powerful approach for investigating NP motions in frustules.