A sensitive fluorescent probe for cysteine and Cu2+ based on 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives and its application in living cells imaging

1,8-naphthalimide derivative (NAD) was developed for highly sensitive and selective detection of Cys and Cu2+ with the detection limits as 25 nM for Cys and 11 nM Cu2+. In addition, the NAD probe can be further applied to cell imaging owing to its photostability and low cytotoxicity.174