Localization of Cholesterol within Supported Lipid Bilayers Made of a Natural Extract of Tailor-Deuterated Phosphatidylcholine
Cholesterol is an essential component of mammalian membranes and is known to induce a series of physicochemical changes in the lipid bilayer. Such changes include the formation of liquid-ordered phases with an increased thickness and a configurational order as compared to liquid-disordered phases. For saturated lipid membranes, cholesterol molecules localize close to the lipid head group-tail inte