Phase behavior and molecular interactions within membranes containing lipids and sterol

Synopsis

We investigated the physical properties of ternary mixtures containing saturated and unsaturated lipids plus ergosterol or cholesterol using deuterium NMR. The binary mixture containing lipids was also studied for comparison. We found that sterol promotes the formation of lo phase in these ternary mixtures. Furthermore, the presence of sterol affects the lipid-lipid interaction. Cholesterol enhances the lipid-lipid interaction significantly.