Micelles as nanosized containers for the self-assembly of multicomponent fluorescent sensors

Micelles can be used as containers to confine different lipophilic molecules in the same nanometric volume. When two or more molecules are contained in the same micelle their local concentration is dramatically increased, they are much less solvated than in bulk water and their mobility is still allowed as if they were included in an organic solvent nanodroplet. As a consequence, intramicellar dynamic interactions are strongly promoted and new overall functions may be expressed by the combination of the properties of each molecular component, obtaining a nanosized supramolecular device. In this paper, we will review the micellar systems in which the promotion of metal-ligand coordination between lipophilic fluorescent ligands and lipophilic complexes, and the co-micellization of lipophilic fluorophores with lipophilic ligands and bases allow the micellar self-assembling of supramolecular fluorescent sensors for cations, anions, pH-windows, and for some chemical–physical properties of molecules.