Near-infrared ratiometric fluorescent detection of arginine in lysosome with a new hemicyanine derivative

A Near-Infrared (NIR) ratiometric and on-off fluorescent probe 1 was synthesized, which exhibited high sensitivity and excellent selectivity in arginine (Arg) recognition. 1 can quantitatively detect Mg in concentration range from 0 to 150 04 with the LOD of 138 nM. Further, it displayed excellent selectivity and anti interference over many biological species, metal ions and anions. Due to its ability to target lysosome, the response of Mg to this probe in a living cell was successfully tracked in a ratiometric manner via fluorescence imaging.