Bioinspired core-bound polymeric micelles, based on hydrogen bonding and photo-crosslinking, of thymine have been prepared from poly(vinylbenzylthymine)-b-poly(vinylbenzyltriethylammonium chloride). The amphiphilic block copolymer was synthesized by 2,2-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxylmediated living radical polymerization in water/ethylene glycol solution. Micelle characterization and critical micelle concentration measurements demonstrated that the hydrogen bonding of the attached thymine units stabilizes the micelles. Further, core-crosslinked polymeric micelles were formed by ultraviolet (UV) radiation showing that the stability of the micelle could be controlled by the UV crosslinking of the attached thymines. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 49: 4121-4128, 2011