Temperature dependence of diffusion in model and live cell membranes characterized by imaging fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.

The organization of the plasma membrane is regulated by the dynamic equilibrium between the liquid ordered(Lo) and liquid disordered (Ld) phases. The abundance of the Lo phase is assumed to be a consequence of the interaction between cholesterol and the other lipids, which are otherwise in either the Ld or gel (So) phase.The characteristic lipid packing in these phases results in significant differences in their respective lateral dynamics.