UCLA researchers have developed a cost-effective method to rapidly monitor the degradation of drug-carrying nanoparticles using a chip-scale microscope. This nanoparticle characterization platform is based on holography and can accurately monitor the size changes of nanocapsules undergoing degradation, while releasing the contents of their drug cargo. This research provides scientists with a powerful measurement tool that can be used to design better nanocapsules for drug delivery and other nanomedicine-related applications.