In order to know the influence of the surface characteristics and the chain properties on the adsorption of amphiphilic molecules onto polystyrene latex, a set of experiments to study the adsorption of ionic surfactants. nonionic surfactants and an amphiphilic synthetic peptide on different latex dispersions was performed. The adsorbed amount versus the equilibrium surfactant concentration was determined. The main adsorption mechanism was the hydrophobic attraction between the nonpolar tail of the molecule and the hydrophobic regions of the latex surface. This attraction overcame the electrostatic repulsion between chains and latex surface with identical charge sip. However, the electrostatic interactions chain-surface and chain-chain also played a role. General patterns for the adsorption of ionic chains on charged latex surfaces could be established. Regarding the shape, the isotherms presented different plateaus corresponding to electrostatic effects and conformational chances. The surfactant size also affects the adsorption results: the higher the hydrophilic moiety in the surfactant molecule the lower the adsorbed amount. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.