Recent advances in 4-hydroxy-1,8-naphthalimide-based small-molecule fluorescent probes

In recent years, more and more chemists and biologists pay attention to the research of fluorescent probes, and great progress has been made in the design and application. In this review, we first discuss the excellent photophysical properties of 4-hydroxy-1,8-naphthalimide (HNI) structure, including excellent photostability, high fluorescence quantum yield, and easy modification of the structure. Then, by discussing the fluorescence behavior of the probe in the corresponding recognition process, the contributions of fluorescent probes built on the platform of HNI in the fields of chemical sensing, biological imaging, pharmaceutical chemistry, environment and food safety in the past ten years are systematically introduced (173 references). At the same time, we hope to develop more powerful fluorescent chemical sensors, which can play a more extensive and exciting role in the future.