Hydrophobic helical peptide molecules with a lactose unit at the C terminal, Nap-(Ala-Aib)(n)-NHCH2CH2NH-Lac (Nap, Aib, and Lac represent 2-naphthylacetic acid group, 2-aminoisobutyric acid, and lactobionic acid group, respectively, n = 4, 6, 8), were synthesized and their formation of self-assemblies in water was investigated. Nap-(Ala-Aib)(4)-NHCH2CH2NH-Lac was spontaneously dispersed in water and formed aggregates of 70 nm diameter, shown by dynamic light scattering measurement. Cryo-TEM observation revealed that the aggregates took on a vesicular structure with a single membrane, The membrane is suggested to be composed of helical peptide molecules with an interdigitated antiparallel packing on the basis of circular dichroism and fluorescence measurements. On the other hand, the dodecapeptide formed a fibrous assembly, and the hexadecapeptide could not be dispersed in water. (C) 2000 Academic Press.