For any solvent to find global application in the chemical industry, methods by which its physical-chemical properties might be manipulated (with respect to e.g. polarity, surface tension, wettability and viscosity) are often required. One way to achieve this Is through the use of surfactants. To this end, surfactant behavior in a variety of unconventional solvent systems (polar hydrocarbons, fluorocarbons and liquid CO2) has been investigated with respect to aggregation, microemulsion formation and nanoparticle stabilization. Both commercial and custom-designed, in-house synthesized surfactant systems have been investigated.