The in-plane spatial distribution of neighbors around cholesterol was also tested and compared to our atomistic reference systems (Figure ). Our model can capture the complex asymmetric distributions of both sterol (Figure ) and acyl chain neighbors (Figure ). The first neighbor acyl chain density hotspots on each specific cholesterol face are reasonably matched (Figure ), and slightly improved compared to the Martini 2 distributions that show less structure (see Figure in Melo et al ). Six interaction hotspots (Figure ,h, red arrows) are observed surrounding our Martini 3 model, matching well with those observed in our AA reference. This structure is then propagated throughout the following neighbor shells, showcasing cholesterol's ability to induce lipid order. The same analysis has been previously done for the Martini 2 cholesterol model yielding only 3 interaction hotspots (see Figure in Melo et al ). While the hotspot located on the smooth side of the sterol core is well modeled by both Martini 2 and Martini 3, the Martini 2 model does not accurately represent the interaction hotspots surrounding the rough cholesterol surface. The first neighbor sterol shells are substantially less clear (both in AA and Martini systems), which may hint at a slight tendency for cholesterol to avoid the first neighbor shell which is preferentially occupied by PC acyl chains (this is more clearly observed for the DPPC system, Figure ). Instead, a more prevalent, yet less structured, second neighborhood shell appears 106 . Overall, this organization of cholesterol in lipid bilayers showcases the improved molecular shape of the model which might provide benefits not exclusive to lipid bilayers.