It is well documented that photoacoustic imaging has the capability to differentiate tissue based on the spectral characteristics of tissue in the optical regime. The imaging depth in tissue exceeds standard optical imaging techniques, and systems can be designed to achieve excellent spatial resolution. A natural extension of imaging the intrinsic optical contrast of tissue is to demonstrate the ability of photoacoustic imaging to detect contrast agents based on optically absorbing dyes that exhibit well defined absorption peaks in the infrared. The ultimate goal of this project is to implement molecular imaging, in which Herceptin TM , a monoclonal antibody that is used as a therapeutic agent in breast cancer patients that over express the HER2 gene, is labeled with an IR absorbing dye, and the resulting in vivo bio-distribution is mapped using multi-spectral, infrared stimulation and subsequent photoacoustic detection. To lay the groundwork for this goal and establish system sensitivity, images were collected in tissue mimicking phantoms to determine maximum detection depth and minimum detectable concentration of Indocyanine Green (ICG), a common IR absorbing dye, for a single angle photoacoustic acquisition. A breast mimicking phantom was constructed and spectra were also collected for hemoglobin and methanol. An imaging schema was developed that made it possible to separate the ICG from the other tissue mimicking components in a multiple component phantom. We present the results of these experiments and define the path forward for the detection of dye labeled Herceptin TM in cell cultures and mice models.