New, well-defined surfactants and cosurfactants were synthesized with the objective of enhancing the stability of fluorocarbon emulsions destined to serve as oxygen carriers for biomedical applications. Monoperfluoroalkylated ethers of xylitol were achieved by addition of perfluoroalkyl iodide on the double bond of a protected xylitol allyl ether in a one-step addition-elimination reaction. Monoesters were obtained specifically on position 5 by ...