ABSTRACT

This chapter intends to review different optical microscopy techniques generally used to study giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs), e.g., bright-field, phase contrast, differential interference contrast, fluorescence (wide-field, laser scanning confocal, multiphoton excitation fluctuation correlation spectroscopy and stimulated emission depletion) including second harmonic generation and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering. The chapter weighs the pros and cons of the distinct microscopy methods, attempting to provide not only practical tips and guidelines to perform experiments at the level of single vesicles but emphasize as well the capabilities of the different techniques to assess dynamical and structural aspects of this particular membrane organization.