Objectives. Biologically active polymeric surfactants are a new promising class of macromolecules that can find application in medicine, cosmetology, and agriculture. In this study, a number of new biologically active amphiphilic polymers based on branched silatrane-containing polyesters and polyethers were obtained, and their surface-active properties were investigated.

Methods. The branched polymers were represented by polyethers and polyesters, obtained respectively via the anionic polymerization of 1,2-epoxypropanol or a combination of equilibrium polycondensation and ring opening polymerization. The polymers were modified with 3-isocyanopropylsilatrane and trimethylethoxysilane to obtain the amphiphilic compounds containing silatrane groups bonded to the polymer backbone by the urethane bond. The structure of the synthesized polymer silatranes was confirmed via nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography. The surface active properties of all the copolymers obtained were investigated in connection with their obvious amphiphilicity. In particular, the formation of micelles in aqueous solutions is such a property. The critical micelle concentrations were determined by a method of quenching the fluorescence of the polymers.

Results. It was shown that the values of the critical micelle concentrations and the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance values of polymers determined by the Griffin equation correlate well with each other. A linear relationship between the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance and the critical micelle concentrations was established. At the same time, polyether-based polymers generally showed higher critical micelle concentrations than polyester-based polymers, although the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance values for polymers of different series, but with close degrees of substitution, were close. It was found that the use of all synthesized polymers as stabilizers of direct and reverse emulsions leads to an increase in the aggregative stability of both types of emulsions. The stability of emulsions depended both on the degree of substitution of peripheral hydroxyl groups of polymers by silatranes and on the molecular weight and structure of the branched block of polymers. The stability of direct emulsions increased for all polymers, while that of inverse emulsions decreased with an increasing degree of substitution of hydroxyl groups by silatranes. The increase of the branched block molecular weight led to an increase of droplet sizes for both direct and inverse emulsions. The smallest droplet size for direct and inverse emulsions was obtained using polymers with low molecular weight branched polyester blocks as surfactants.

Conclusions. The results obtained prove the possibility of creating polymer surfactants containing silatrane groups. By varying the structure of the polymer, its molecular weight and the degree of substitution of peripheral functional groups, it is possible to obtain surfactants with desired surface properties.