Cholesteryl nonanoate, also called cholesteryl pelargonate, 3β-cholest-5-en-3-ol nonaoate or cholest-5-ene-3-β-yl nonanoate, is an
ester
In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides a ...
of
cholesterol
Cholesterol is any of a class of certain organic molecules called lipids. It is a sterol (or modified steroid), a type of lipid. Cholesterol is biosynthesized by all animal cells and is an essential structural component of animal cell mem ...
and
nonanoic acid
Pelargonic acid, also called nonanoic acid, is an organic compound with structural formula CH3(CH2)7CO2H. It is a nine-carbon fatty acid. Nonanoic acid is a colorless oily liquid with an unpleasant, rancid odor. It is nearly insoluble in water, ...
. It is a
liquid crystal material forming
cholesteric liquid crystal
A cholesteric liquid-crystal display (ChLCD) is a display containing a liquid crystal with a helical structure and which is therefore chiral. Cholesteric liquid crystals are also known as '' chiral nematic liquid crystals''. They organize in laye ...
s with helical structure. It forms
spherulite
In petrology, spherulites () are small, rounded bodies that commonly occur in vitreous igneous rocks. They are often visible in specimens of obsidian, pitchstone, and rhyolite as globules about the size of millet seed or rice grain, with a dul ...
crystals.
Uses
It is used in some
hair color
Human hair color is the pigmentation of human hair follicles due to two types of melanin: eumelanin and pheomelanin. Generally, if more melanin is present, the color of the hair is darker; if less melanin is present, the hair is lighter. The t ...
s,
make-ups, and some other cosmetic preparations; e.g. the ISP ColorFlow line is based on mixtures with e.g.
cholesteryl chloride,
cholesteryl oleyl carbonate and
BHT. The mixture provides an
opalescent
Opalescence refers to the optical phenomena displayed by the mineraloid gemstone opalopalescent. 2019. In Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. Retrieved January 7, 2019, from https://1828.mshaffer.com/d/word/opale ...
,
iridescent appearance.
It is also used in some
pleochroic
Pleochroism (from Greek πλέων, ''pléōn'', "more" and χρῶμα, ''khrôma'', "color") is an optical phenomenon in which a substance has different colors when observed at different angles, especially with polarized light.
Backgroun ...
dyes and together with e.g.
cholesteryl oleyl carbonate and
cholesteryl benzoate
Cholesteryl benzoate, also called 5-cholesten-3-yl benzoate, is an organic chemical, an ester of cholesterol and benzoic acid. It is a liquid crystal material forming cholesteric liquid crystals with helical structure.
It can be used with choleste ...
in some
thermochromic
Thermochromism is the property of substances to change color due to a change in temperature. A mood ring is an excellent example of this phenomenon, but thermochromism also has more practical uses, such as baby bottles which change to a differen ...
applications.
Cholesteryl Ester Liquid Crystals
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It can be also used as a component of the liquid crystals used for liquid crystal displays.
References
Cholestanes
Liquid crystals
Nonanoate esters