A novel hydroxynaphthalimide-derived regenerative fluorescent probe for the detection of formaldehyde in cells and zebrafish

Abstract

As an environmental pollutant and carcinogen, formaldehyde (FA) is widely used in many fields, such as building materials, biomedicine, chemical industry, and so on. In vivo, as an active carbonyl substance, FA also plays a very important role. However, excessive FA in living organisms can cause many diseases. Therefore, it is extremely important to ensure the balance of FA concentration in organisms. Based on this, a regenerated FA fluorescence probe NE-FA was studied for the detection of FA. The probe used hydroxynaphthalimide as a fluorophore and 2-methylaminobenzoate ester as a recognition receptor. After the probe reacts with FA, it can induce ester hydrolysis to regenerate FA, while simultaneously releasing enhanced fluorescent signal. In the selective experiments, the probe exhibits good selectivity to FA. In addition, the probe has been successfully applied to monitor FA in cells and zebrafish.