New trends of molecular probes based on the fluorophore 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimide

4-Amino-1,8-naphthalimide (ANI) represents a valuable fluorophore from which a large number of probes have been derived in order to meet the requirements from the fields of biological sensing and imaging. In this review, the major progresses of ANI-based fluorescent probes in the past decade have been highlighted and categorized into three trends. The future development of ANI probes is also expected. This review provides a great deal of references and illuminating comments which will be helpful for the researchers designing and using fluorescent probes. (C) 2019 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.