The arginine detection and cytotoxicity of fluorescent probes based on naphthalene derivatives

From a biological point of view, Schiff base probes containing fluorescent groups are chemically modified to provide an effective method for the detection of amino acids. According to this method, three molecular probes containing Schiff base and hydroxyl group have been designed and synthesized. UV‐Vis and fluorescent data indicated that compound 2 showed strong sensitivity and high selectivity for arginine (Arg) among normal twenty kinds of amino acids. In addition, compound 2 displayed high combining ability with Arg and low cytotoxicity in MCF‐7 cell from 0 to 150 μg/mL. The above results showed the synthesized probes also can be used a biosensor for the Arg detection in vivo.