| Abstract
| - A large variety of amphiphilic polylactide-grafted dextrans has been synthesized withcontrolled architecture through a three-step procedure: partial protection of the dextran hydroxyl groupsby silylation; ring-opening polymerization of D,L-lactide initiated from remaining hydroxyl groups onpartially silylated dextran; and silyl ether deprotection under very mild conditions. Throughout thesynthesis, detailed characterizations of each step led to the control of copolymer architecture in terms ofgraft number and lengths of graft and backbone. Depending on their proportion in polylactide, thesecopolymers were either water-soluble or soluble in organic solvents. The potential of these amphiphilicgrafted copolymers as surfactants was estimated. Their organization at air/water or dichloromethane/water interfaces was investigated by interfacial tension measurements. Self-organization in water ortoluene was evaluated using fluorescence spectroscopy. Depending on its solubility, each copolymer showednoticeable surfactant properties and was able to produce either hydrophobic or hydrated microdomainsin water or toluene solutions, respectively.
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