New polymer colloids based on the saccharide monomer, using of 3-O-methacryloyl-1,2:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-alpha-D-glucofuranose (3-MDG), were prepared by semicontinuous emulsion polymerization, a widely used industrial process. The copolymerization of 3-MDG and butyl acrylate (BA), by the monomer-addition technique, at 70degreesC, using sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8) as an initiator, was investigated. The influence of some reaction parameters, such as the type and concentration of the surfactants as well as the monomer addition rate (R-m) on the polymerization rate (R-p), the colloidal properties, and the stability of the latexes, was studied. It was found that under starved-feed conditions the polymerization rate and the particle size (D) increased with an increasing rate of monomer addition. The weight-average molecular weight ((M) over bar (w)) also increased by enhancing R-m and a narrower molecular weight distribution was obtained. Furthermore, the type and the concentration of the surfactants strongly influenced the particle size and its distribution. The effect of the seed stage on the particle size and its distribution was also investigated. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.