A 1,8-naphthalimide-based turn-on fluorescent probe for imaging Cu2+ in lysosomes

In this study, we developed a fluorescence-enhanced probe (1) based on a simple Schiff-based condensation reaction for Cu2+ selection. We investigated its distinct recognition mechanism through mass spectra, 1H NMR studies, and DFT calculations. The imaging and costaining experiments indicated that the probe could successfully image lysosomal Cu2+.