Determination of DPH order parameters in unoriented vesicles

This article reviews the determination of orientational order parameters in non-macroscopically oriented membranes from the data obtained with the fluorescent probe all-trans-1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH). Special attention is paid to the effect of microheterogeneity in the probe environment on the recovered values of the order parameters. An effort is made to accommodate new findings in the existing picture of orientational order in membranes.