Analytical estimates of free Brownian diffusion times in corrugated narrow channels

Abstract

The diffusion of a suspended Brownian particle along a sinusoidally corrugated narrow channel is investigated to assess the validity of two competing analytical schemes, both based on effective one-dimensional kinetic equations, one continuous (entropic channel scheme) and the other discrete (random walker scheme). For narrow pores, the characteristic diffusion time scale is represented by the mean first exit time out of a channel compartment. Such a diffusion time has been analytically calculated in both approximate schemes; the two analytical results coincide in leading order and are in excellent agreement with the simulation data. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.