Integrated binary hologram to monitor cargo release from a drug-eluting film

Abstract

Nowadays, holography translates from a pure technical tool for recording the phase and amplitude of the light wave to a widely applicable research-based method. Holographic devices are used for security enhancement, entertainment, 3D display technologies and augmented reality. Binary computer-generated holograms (amplitude or phase-based) are of specific interest. They are easy to compute and their manufacturing methods are fast and robust. In this work, a method of manufacturing amplitude-only binary holograms out of biopolymers films is proposed. Opaque cargo bits made out of different bioactive substances (antibiotics, dyes, etc.) absorb or scatter specific parts of the incoming light wave. Cargo release was conducted by submerging the produced holograms into the aqueous solution at specific pH and temperature levels. Drug elution from the film was traced out by the numerical analysis of the far-field diffraction pattern, which otherwise could only be measured post-factum using sophisticated spectroscopic or chromatography devices. This approach broadens the application of general holography over to the field of biomedical research relevant to quantitative monitoring of the drug elution.