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 Arg in concentration range from 0 to 150 μM 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 Arg to this probe in a living cell was successfully tracked in a ratiometric manner via fluorescence imaging.