Besides the CHOL-induced ordering, eects on membrane properties have been discussed also in terms of (i) the CHOL condensing eect, which refers to a decrease in the area per phospholipid upon the addition of CHOL (negative partial area), 75 or (ii) CHOL having a diminishing partial area, meaning that a certain amount of CHOL could be added to a phospholipid bilayer without eecting its total area (zero partial area).