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Updated: May 9, 2026

Cholesterol Efflux Assay
Published on: March 6, 2012
Surface occupancy plays a major role in cholesterol's condensing effect
Martin R Krause1, Serhan Turkyilmaz, Steven L Regen
1Department of Chemistry, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, USA.
Abstract:
The condensing power of cholesterol and 5α-cholestane has been examined in liposomal membranes made from 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC). Quantitative nearest-neighbor recognition (NNR) analysis and fluorescence measurements using phase-sensitive probe Laurdan have demonstrated that 5α-cholestane exhibits a substantially weaker condensing effect. This fact, in and of itself, provides compelling evidence that cholesterol's condensing effect is critically dependent on having its steroid nucleus at the membrane surface.
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