Optical Techniques for the Measurement of Nanoscale Hydrogel Crystal Particles

Two optical techniques can be used to measure the size of the hydrogel component particles at the nano scale: 1) a method using light absorbance and 2) a method using laser light diffraction. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. The laser light diffraction method is effective for particles ranging from 400 nm to 1000 nm in diameter while the UV absorbance method is effective for particles ranging from 100 nm to 400 nm in diameter.