22-NBD cholesterol is a fluorescent analog of cholesterol that contains a fluorescent nitrobenzoxadiazole (NBD) group. It has been used in a variety of in vitro and in vivo applications, including analysis of steroid uptake and esterification, intracellular localization and targeting, and metabolism in mammalian and bacterial cells, and intestinal absorption of cholesterol in hamsters. 22-NBD cholesterol displays excitation/emission maxima of 472/540 nm, respectively, when incorporated into 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-PC (DMPC; ) vesicles. The emission maximum of 22-NBD cholesterol is solvent-dependent and increases as solvent polarity increases.
