Measurement of diffusion coefficients in gels using holographic laser interferometry

The accuracy and precision of holographic interferometry as a method to measure diffusion coefficients in gels are investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The standard deviations in the experimentally determined diffusion coefficient for ethanol in 4% (w/v) agarose gel were 3.3% for diffusion into the gel and 6.1% for diffusion out of the gel. These are in good agreement with the standard deviations obtained using Monte Carlo simulations. Systematic errors derived from an assumption of constant diffusion coefficients were also investigated.