Effect of hydrophile–lipophile balance of <i>F</i>-alkylated cyclic polyethylene glycol succinates on their applications

Abstract The hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of any surfactant determines its solubility. Selection of the ideal surfactant for a given application appears to be facilitated by a thorough understanding of the relationship between accurately measured or calculated HLB and physicochemical properties. In this study the HLB values of the mono-, bi- and bolaphilic derivatives of F -alkylated cyclic polyethylene glycol succinate were determined using the Griffin technique. It was investigated how the different applications of these surfactants can be distinguished by their HLB values.