Electronic and Infrared Spectroscopic Studies of Aggregation of Cholesterol

A number of reasons and causes has been put forward to understand and explain the process of atherosclerosis, or plaque formation in arteries, and the strategies to combat it. We wish to communicate that the increased level of alkalinity in serum plays an important role in atherosclerosis. On one hand, higher alkalinity helps monomer cholesterol to dimerize, supporting plaque formation. On the other hand, this converts polymer (higher aggregates) into dimer (a lower aggregate). The other finding is that the presence of a certain class of molecules in serum, part of whose bonding structure is ‐CH₂‐O‐CH₂‐, for example, dioxane (maybe as a pollutant), promotes dimerization of cholesterol, which may set in motion the process of plaque formation. At the same time, higher aggregates (insoluble) are converted to dimer (relatively more soluble). This finding could be strategically employed to tackle atherosclerosis.