A core technique in our laboratory is inverted digital video microscopy combined with micropipette manipulation (micromanipulation). Our setup consists of an experimental station (inverted microscope with micromanipulators), a data acquisition station (digital camera and computer interface), a distribution system (digital library of images and videos), and a projection/display system. This platform allows us to visualize and record reactions between and within aqueous microdroplets in real time.



Micropipette manipulators allow us to create, position, and manipulate single, cell‑sized droplets in a well‑defined and controlled liquid environment. By translating, merging, or separating droplets, we can change the surrounding environment, introduce reagents, and modulate interfacial monolayers and bilayers. These capabilities are central to our studies of membrane mimics, interfacial assembly, and microscale chemical phenomena.

Confocal Raman spectroscopy/microscopy to obtain vibrational spectra from defined regions of lipid membranes and droplet interface bilayers, revealing molecular structure, composition, and membrane perturbations by bioactive molecules. The Inverted Confocal Raman Microscope with micromanipulation system has two lasers consisting of 532 nm 25 mW solid state laser with spectral resolution, 0.7 cm-1/pixel and 785 nm 100 mW laser diode, with spectral resolution, 0.4 cm-1/pixel.

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC; TA Instruments 2000) is a thermodynamic technique that measures heat flow associated with transitions in materials as a function of temperature and time. In our work, DSC is used to characterize lipid phase transitions and to quantify how interactions with exogenous molecules—such as drugs, cholesterol, or other bioactive compounds—shift membrane transition temperatures and enthalpies. These measurements help link molecular interactions to changes in membrane physical properties.