Fabrication of biodegradable films using <sc>l</sc>-lactate as a chiral material to produce circularly polarized light

Abstract

<abstract> <p>Optical activity and its relation to molecular chirality are significant in the measurement of optical rotation or circular dichroism characteristics to determine the absolute configuration of a chiral molecule. A quarter-wave plate, which is usually made from quartz, can convert linearly polarized light into circularly polarized light. In this study, we suggest using <sc>l</sc>-lactic acid (<sc>l</sc>-LA), a chiral material, and a water-based transparent glue to produce biodegradable films. Adjusting the number of thin layers, which are deposited from the mixture of <sc>l</sc>-LA and polyvinyl alcohol, leads to different phase differences, forming <sc>l</sc>-LA films. A modified microscope system was used to observe the appearance of the <sc>l</sc>-LA wave plates. Six layers and 0.8% <sc>l</sc>-LA solution were the optimal conditions to fabricate an <sc>l</sc>-LA film. The circular polarization experiment showed that the changes in maximum and minimum light intensity were within 2% compared to the average light intensity at a specific angle of the <sc>l</sc>-LA film. The performance of the <sc>l</sc>-LA film was consistent with that of a commercial quarter-wave plate. In conclusion, circularly polarized light was successfully produced using the <sc>l</sc>-LA film. The biodegradable <sc>l</sc>-LA film has widespread application in the field of biomedicine. Featured Application: <sc>l</sc>-Lactic acid film uses biodegradable and biocompatible materials. It can produce circularly polarized light and is beneficial for application in biomedicine.</p> </abstract>