A naphthalene derivative as 'turn-on' fluorescent chemosensor for the highly selective and sensitive detection of Al.

A Schiff base compound derived from naphthalene has been synthesized and characterized as an Al -selective fluorescent probe. The chemosensor (L) exhibits high selectively for Al in aqueous solution, even in the presence of biologically relevant cations such as Na , K , Ca , Mg , Pb and several transition metal ions. There was no observed interference from anions like Br , Cl , HSO , SO , S O , NO , CO and AC . The lowest detection limit for the chemosensor L was found to be 1.89 × 10  M with a linear response towards Al over a concentration range of 5 × 10 to 4 × 10  M. Furthermore, the proposed chemosensor has been used for imaging of Al in two different types of cells with satisfying results, which further demonstrates its value for practical application in biological systems.