Perfluorooctyl bromide has limited membrane solubility and is located at the bilayer center. Locating small molecules in lipid bilayers through paramagnetic enhancements of NMR relaxation.

There is considerable interest in the use of perfluorocarbons as oxygen carriers in clinical settings; however, little is known regarding the molecular interactions made by these apolar compounds with biological membranes or their effect on membrane structure. NMR spectroscopy was used to investigate the interaction of perfluorooctyl bromide (PFOB) with 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) bilayers. (19)F NMR spectra demonstrate that PFOB partitions into POPC bilayers but that it saturates at a remarkably low membrane concentration of approximately 2 mol %.