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 ...

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 membr ...

and nonanoic acid. It is a

liquid crystal Liquid crystal (LC) is a state of matter whose properties are between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals. For example, a liquid crystal may flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a crystal-like way. The ...

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 layer ...

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. Th ...

make-up Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protec ...

s, and some other cosmetic preparations; e.g. the ISP ColorFlow line is based on mixtures with e.g. cholesteryl chloride,

cholesteryl oleyl carbonate Cholesteryl oleyl carbonate (COC) is an organic chemical, a carbonate ester of cholesterol and oleyl alcohol with carbonic acid. It is a liquid crystal material forming cholesteric liquid crystals with helical structure. It is a transparent liqu ...

and

BHT BHT may refer to: * Berliner Hochschule für Technik, is the second largest University of Applied Sciences in Berlin * Black hairy tongue * Blue Hill Troupe, a New York City-based musical theatre company * Boğaziçi Hava Taşımacılığı, a f ...

. The mixture provides an opalescent,

iridescent Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, feathers, butterfl ...

appearance. It is also used in some pleochroic dyes and together with e.g.

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 choles ...

in some thermochromic applications.Cholesteryl Ester Liquid Crystals
/ref> It can be also used as a component of the liquid crystals used for

liquid crystal display A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but ...

References

Cholestanes Liquid crystals Nonanoate esters