An oxime-based fluorescent-ON probe for the rapid detection of arginine and lysine in aqueous solution

A novel fluorescence sensor (R)-4 based on BINOL skeleton was designed and synthesized, which can rapidly detect arginine (Arg) and lysine (Lys) in aqueous solution with high selectivity and sensitivity. The detection windows are 0–50 μM for the two amino acids, and the detection limits of arginine and lysine are 13.07 nM and 12.53 nM respectively. The fluorescence signal remains strong in the presence of various competing ions, and the probe can realize the colorimetric detection of arginine and lysine for qualitative analysis with a UV-lamp. In addition, the probe was successfully applied to detect Arg and Lys in living cells with low cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility.