Used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations as an emollient and skin-conditioning agent. It helps improve the texture and stability of creams and lotions by enhancing spreadability and reducing water loss from the skin. Also serves as a solubilizing or stabilizing agent in lipid-based delivery systems, including transdermal, topical, nano, and microemulsion formulations to enhance absorption of poorly water-soluble drugs. Its esterified structure provides greater lipophilicity compared to free cholesterol, making it useful in controlled-release applications and in the formulation of sustained-release matrices. Additionally, employed in research settings to study lipid metabolism, membrane dynamics, and biochemical behavior of lipids in cell membranes due to its role as a cholesterol derivative with modified solubility and metabolic properties.