Nanoconfinement effect on the hydrolysis of cisplatin

Abstract

The encapsulation of cisplatin inside carbon nanohorns (CNH) is a promising chemotherapy, but it is still under investigation. This process brings few water molecules inside the nanocarrier. The confined system joined to the low concentration of Cl- inside the CNH could promote the hydrolysis of cisplatin. This process was investigated in the present study using the QM/MM hybrid approach. The results show that the reaction is less favorable inside the CNH by 7 kcal mol−1, but its kinetics is 4-orders of magnitude faster than the bulk reaction; therefore, cisplatin and its aquo-derivative may coexist inside the nanoformulation.