A novel formaldehyde fluorescent probe based on 1, 8-naphthalimide derivative and its application in living cell

As an important reactive carbonyl compound, formaldehyde (FA) existing in various parts of the organism and plays an important role in cognitive ability and memory formation. However, abnormal concentrations of FA could cause many diseases. Herein, a novel 1,8-naphthalimide derivative fluorescent probe (NID) for detecting FA was rationally designed and synthesized. Probe NID showed a rapid response (within 8 s) towards FA with visual detection. More importantly, NID can be used to image FA in MCF-7 cells, which demonstrated its suitability for practical applications of biological systems with low cytotoxicity.