Distribution of DNA in cationic liposome complexes probed by Raman microscopy

The potential application of Raman microscopy to image the distribution of DNA inside lipid-DNA complexes was examined. To test this, we mixed DNA with DOTMA/DOPE liposome vesicles and imaged the distribution of DNA in the liposome complex by using the characteristic DNA guanine peak as a marker. The Raman intensity map indicates that the concentration of DNA molecules is higher near the core of the DOTMA/DOPE liposome vesicle. This result demonstrates that this technique is a viable technique to monitor DNA distribution inside liposomes.