architecture on the A/W interfacial self-assembly. Brewster angle microscopy investigations will

also be necessary on the PCL-based block copolymers in the high surface pressure region to

determine if the PCL crystals observed by AFM imaging in the LB films were formed directly at

the A/W interface or if significant additional PCL crystallization took place during transfer.

 In Chapter 5, we took advantage of the surface activity of hydrosilylated PB-b-PEO three-

arm star block copolymers to synthesize at the A/W interface cross-linked polybutadiene two-

dimensional networks with PEO domains of controllable sizes trapped within, through

polycondensation of triethoxysilane pendant groups under acidic conditions. This novel and

general method to cross-link in 2D polydiene blocks should easily be applied in the future to a

variety of other polydiene-based block copolymers for the synthesis of well-defined 2D cross-

linked patterns.

 In Chapter 6, to quantify the drug encapsulation selectivity of oil-filled silica nanocapsules

consisting of a hydrophobic liquid core and a silicate shell, a series of electrochemical and

spectroscopic measurements was performed, and the nanocapsules efficiently and rapidly

removed large amounts of organic compounds present in aqueous solutions. The silica shell was

shown to act similarly as a chromatographing layer, but this does not lead yet to enough

selectivity to avoid encapsulation of undesired molecules present in the blood stream. Additional

nanocapsules should therefore be designed with for instance different oil-cores or silica shells

with controllable pore sizes complementary to the target toxic drugs.

 With a view toward increasing specificity in drug detoxification therapy, a series of

molecularly imprinted nanoparticles was synthesized by the non-covalent approach as described

in Chapter 7, and the encapsulation specificity was studied through rebinding experiments. These

nanoparticles are ideal candidates for in-vivo drug detoxification applications since they were