<p> Over the past decade, the development of surface-initiated living polymerization methods has brought a breakthrough to surface modification owing to their control ability. Surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (si-ATRP), as the most popular one, has been widely employed to give novel polymer structures and functionalities to various surfaces for the purposes of tailoring surface properties, introducing new functions, or preparing so-called "smart surfaces", which can respond to external stimuli such as solvent type, pH, temperature, electric and magnetic fields etc. In this thesis, the mechanistic study of the si-ATRP was first carried out through modeling to gain good understanding of si-ATRP. Si-ATRP was then employed to prepare different types of polymer brushes to produce "smart surfaces". </p> <p> The kinetic model was developed using the method of moment. Combined with experimental data, a quantitative analysis was carried out for the si-ATRP mechanism. All information of grafted polymer chains, including active chain concentration, radical concentration, chain length, polydispersity, was illustrated. A new radical termination mechanism, termed as migration-termination, was proposed for si-ATRP. </p> <p> Si-ATRP was then employed to graft poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) (POEGMA) block poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) brushes on silicon wafer surfaces. Simple solvent treatment gave nanoscale patterns via the phase segregation of POEGMA and PMMA segments. Various patterns including spherical aggregates, wormlike aggregates, stripe patterns, perforated layers and complete overlayers, were obtained by adjusting the upper block layer thickness. Furthermore, these nanopatterns had a unique stimuli-responsive property, i.e., switching between different morphologies reversibly after being treated with selective solvents. </p> <p> POEGMA-block-poly(2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl trimethylammonium chloride) (PMETAC) brushes, having two hydrophilic segments, were synthesized by si-ATRP method. A variety of nanopatterns and their stimuli-responsive ability were observed. The adsorption behaviors of fibrinogen on these patterns were thoroughly studied by ellipsometry, water contact angel measurement, AFM and radio labelling method. </p> <p> A novel thermo-responsive copolymer, poly(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate -co-oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) (P(ME02MA-co-OEGMA)), was also grafted onto silicon wafers. Its thermo-responsive behavior and chain conformation in aqueous solution were studied by neutron reflectometry (NR). Both extended and collapsed brushes exhibited good protein adsorption resistance. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

De nouveaux glycopolymères greffés aux paramètres macromoléculaires contrôlés [dextrane-g-poly(acrylate de diéthylène glycol cholestéryle), Dex-g-PADEGChol] ont été préparés en quatre étapes via la stratégie de synthèse « grafting from». L'originalité de ces glycopolymères réside dans la combinaison, et pour la première fois, d'une dorsale polysaccharide hydrophile biocompatible/ biodégradable et de greffons polymères hydrophobes à caractère mésogène. L'ATRP a été utilisée pour contrôler la croissance des greffons PADEGChol en milieu homogène à partir d'un macroamorceur dérivé de dextrane (DexAcBr). Les conditions de polymérisation avaient été préalablement ajustées en étudiant l'homopolymérisation du monomère ADEGChol en présence d'un amorceur modèle et de plusieurs systèmes catalytiques CuIBr/(PMDETA ou OPMI) dans différents solvants (THF ou toluène). Le caractère amphiphile de ces glycopolymères a été évalué et leurs propriétés mésomorphes ont été étudiées par calorimétrie différentielle à balayage, microscopie optique à lumière polarisante et par diffraction des rayons X. Des études préliminaires par microscope électronique à transmission et diffusion dynamique de la lumière polarisée ont démontré que ces glycopolymères adoptent une morphologie vésiculaire appelée « polymersome » en phase aqueuse, lorsque le DMSO est utilisé comme co-solvant. Ces nano-objets pourront être testés ultérieurement pour la formulation d'un nouveau type de vecteurs de principes actifs / New graft glycopolymers with well-defined parameters [dextran-g-poly(diethylene glycol cholesteryl ether acrylate) (Dex-g-PADEGChol)] have been prepared in four steps using the "grafting from" strategy. Challenge of this work arises from the combination for the first time of a hydrophilic, biocompatible/biodegradable polysaccharide backbone with mesogen hydrophobic polymeric grafts. Controlled growth of the grafts (PADEGChol) was obtained using ATRP initiated in homogeneous medium from a dextran derivative (DexAcBr). In order to find the best polymerization conditions, homopolymerization of ADEGChol monomer was investigated using an initiator model and various catalytic systems CuIBr/(PMDETA or OPMI) in two solvents (Toluene and THF). The amphiphilic properties of such glycopolymers were evaluated and their mesomorphic properties have been studied by thermal polarizing optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray scattering. Using transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering, vesicular morphology called "polymersome" was observed in aqueous medium when DMSO was used as co-solvent. These polymersomes could be tested as new drug delivery systems