Fluorescent vesicles consisting of galactose-based amphiphilic copolymers with a π-conjugated sequence self-assembled in water.

Fluorescent vesicles considered as a mimic of natural primitive cells are prepared from poly(3-hexylthiophene)-block-poly(3-O-methacryloyl-D-galactopyranose) P3HT-b-PMAGP copolymers. The unique characteristic of such vesicular nanostructures is their architecture, which comprises a hydrophobic π-conjugated P3HT wall stabilized by a hydrophilic PMAGP interface featuring glucose units. The results of this work offer a very efficient and straightforward method for engineering well-controlled fluorescent nanoparticles (without the addition of dyes), which provide an excellent support to the study of carbohydrate-protein interactions.