It has been suggested that the formation of cytoplasmic lipid droplets may produce an artifact and be responsible for the differences in membrane physical properties detected in lipid-modified cells using fluorescence polarization or spin label probes. To investigate this, the electron spin resonance spectra of lipid droplets isolated from the cytoplasm of L1210 leukemia cells were compared with spectra obtained from the intact cell. Mice bearing the L1210 leukemia were fed diets containing either 16% sunflower oil or 16% coconut oil in order to modify the fatty acid composition of the tumor. A microsome-rich fraction prepared from L1210 cells grown in animals fed the sunflower oil-rich diet contained more polyenoic fatty acids (52 versus 29%), while microsomes from L1210 cells grown in animals fed the coconut oil-rich diets contained more monoenoic fatty acids (37 versus 12%). The order parameter calculated for lipid droplets labeled with the 5-nitroxystearic acid spin probe was only about one-half that of intact cells, whereas it was similar to that obtained for pure triolein droplets suspended in buffer. Order parameters of the inner hyperfine splittings calculated from the spectra of cells grown in the sunflower oil-fed animals [0.543 +/- 0.001 (S.E.)] were lower than those from the cells grown in animals fed the coconut oil diets (0.555 +/- 0.002) (p less than 0.005). In contrast, the order parameters of the lipid droplets isolated from the cells grown in animals fed sunflower oil (0.303 +/- 0.029) or coconut oil (0.295 +/- 0.021) were not significantly different, indicating that motion of a spin label probe in the highly fluid cytoplasmic lipid droplets is not affected by these types of modifications in cellular fatty acid composition. Therefore, the electron spin resonance changes that are observed in the intact cells cannot be due to localization of the probe in cytoplasmic lipid droplets. These results support the conclusion that the electron spin resonance changes observed with the 5-nitroxystearic acid spin probe are due to changes in membrane fluidity produced by the modification in cellular lipid composition.