Transport of unesterified fatty acids (FA) into cells has been viewed either as a simple
diffusion process regulated mainly by lipid physical chemistry or as a more complex process
involving protein catalysis. In this review FA transport in cell membranes is broken down into
three essential steps: adsorption, transmembrane movement, and desorption. The physical
properties of FA in aqueous, membrane, and protein environments relevant to transport
mechanisms are discussed, with emphasis on recent information derived from NMR and …