TABLE OF CONTENTS


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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............. ...............3.....

LIST OF TABLES ............ ..... .__ ...............8...

LIST OF FIGURES .............. ...............9.....

AB S TRAC T ........._. ............ ..............._ 15...

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION ................. ...............17.......... ......

 1.1 Block Copolymers in the Bulk and in Solution ................. ...............17...........
 1.2 Block Copolymers at the A/W Interface .............. ...............20....
 1.3 Current Status of Drug Detoxification Therapy .............. ...............23....
 1.4 Nanoparticle Technology............... .................2
 1.5 Microemulsions and Sol-Gel Chemistry .............. .. ...............25...
 1.6 Molecular Imprinting and Miniemulsion Polymerization .............. .....................2

2 EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES............... ...............3

 2.1 Langmuir Monolayers and Surface Pressure Related Experiments ................ ...............32
 2.2 Langmuir-Blodgett Films and Atomic Force Microscopy .............. ....................3
 2.3 Transmission Electron Microscopy and Quasi-Elastic Light Scattering ................... .......39
 2.4 Cyclic Voltammetry............... ..............4

3 POLYSTYRENE-b-POLY(TERT-BUTYLACRYLATE) AND POLYSTYRENE-b-
 POLY(ACRYLIC ACID) DENDRIMER-LIKE COPOLYMERS: TWO-
 DIMENSIONAL SELF-AS SEMBLY AT THE AIR-WATER INTERFACE ....................44

 3 .1 Introducti on ............ ..... ._ ...............44..
 3.2 Results and Discussion ................. .... ...............4
 3.2. 1 PS-b-PtBA Dendrimer-Like Copolymer ................. ...............46...............
 3.2.2 PS-b-PAA Dendrimer-Like Copolymer ................. ........._.. ....... 52_.._ ...
 3.3 Conclusions............... ..............5
 3.4 Experimental Methods ..........._._ ......_..._ ...............59....
 3 .4. 1 M ateri al s........._.___..... ._ __ ...............59..
 3.4.2 Langmuir Films .............. ...............59....
 3.4.3 AFM Imaging ................. ...............60..._..._ .....

4 LANGMUIR AND LANGMUIR-BLODGETT FILMS OF POLY(ETHYLENE
 OXIDE)-b-POLY(s-CAPROLACTONE) STAR-SHAPED AND LINEAR BLOCK
 COPOLY MERS .............. ...............61....