Cholesterol influence on the bending elasticity of lipid membranes

At relatively low concentrations (<10 mol %) of cholesterol in the SOPC membrane the bending elasticity modulus first increases with about 30% upon cholesterol increase and after that decreases to a value slightly lower than that of the pure bilayer. The increase of the cholesterol from 10 to 50 mol % leads to a threefold increase of the bending modulus compared to the value of the pure SOPC membrane.