Thermal properties of systems containing cholesteryl esters and triglycerides

Binary and ternary systems of the three cholesteryl esters, linoleate, oleate, and stearate and the two triglycerides, triolein and tristearin were studied in order to determine the phase transitions and the conditions for the cholesteric and smectic mesophases. Phase transitions were determined using differential thermal analysis, melting point determination, and polarizing microscopy. Of the cholesterol esters the linoleate-oleate system showed complete miscibility in both the liquid and solid phases. The linoleate-stearate and oleate-stearate systems are of the eutectic type with limited solid solubility. The mesophases are monotropic as to the crystalline state and exist over the entire composition interval in all cholesteryl ester systems studied.