Thermotropic Behavior of Lipid Mixtures Studied at the Level of Single Vesicles: Giant Unilamellar Vesicles and Two-Photon Excitation Fluorescence Microscopy

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to introduce an experimental approach that allows visualization of temperature-dependent lipid phase equilibria at the level of single vesicles, using two-photon fluorescence microscopy. Various methods to prepare giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) and novel results in the direct visualization of the lipid phase coexistence at the level of single vesicles, combining the particular properties of some fluorescent probes and two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy, are discussed in this chapter.