Metal-free Lewis pairs catalysed synthesis of fluorescently labelled polyester-based amphiphilic polymers for biological imaging

•Fluorescent polyester-based amphiphilic polymers were synthesized through the combination of ROAC and click reaction.•The polyester backbone can be synthesized by ROAC using NBD-OH fluorophore as the initiator and Lewis pairs as the catalyst.•The amphiphilic polymers can self-assemble into stable nanoparticles in the water, and show good fluorescence performance.•This work highlights a novel approach to the preparation of biocompatible fluorescent amphiphilic polymers for biological imaging.