A novel class of surface-active carbohydrate esters is prepared by a two-step strategy that takes advantage of the selectivity of enzymatic catalysis and the versatility of the thiol-Michael addition reaction. The surfactant performance of the produced aliphatic, fluorinated and silicon based sugar esters are evaluated by surfacetension measurements. The novel thiolated mannose, made available in
amphiphilic carbohydrate esters, respectively. A surface activity study showed that these new compounds possess valuable properties and display specific behavior at the air-waterinterface. It also demonstrated the greater flexibility of the thioether moiety in the spacer of the surfactants produced via a thiol-ene reaction in comparison with the triazole heterocyclic rings in similar glucose-based surfactants