Scheme 1. (a) Chemical structures of the monomers (m1–m4) and the amphiphilic block copolymers R and C. Both R and C are functionalized with a fluorescent perylene derivative which can be excited at 470 nm. (b) Polymers C and R aggregate into micellar assemblies. In the case of R micelles (RM), acidification triggers the disaggregation of the micelles leading to fluorescence “switch ON”. In contrast, pH variation does not cause the disassembly of C micelles (CM), which can be disaggregated in the presence of a detergent (SDS).
