Rotational and translational diffusion of copper oxide nanorods measured with holographic video microscopy

We use holographic video microscopy to track the threedimensional translational and rotational diffusion of copper oxide nanorods suspended in water. Rayleigh-Sommerfeld back-propagation of a single holographic snapshot yields a volumetric reconstruction of the nanorods optical scattering pattern, from which we estimate both its dimensions and also its instantaneous position and orientation. Analyzing a video sequence yields measurements of the freely diffusing nanorods dynamics, from which we estimate the techniques resolution.