A highly selective ratiometric fluorescent chemodosimeter derived from 4-hydroxynaphthalimide was designed and synthesized to image palladium species in living cells by virtue of a palladium-catalyzed depropargylation reaction, and it could monitor three typical palladium species (0, + 2 and + 4) without additional reagents.

A naphthalimide-based colorimetric fluorescent probe containing a disulfide group was designed and synthesized, which could detect the physiological level of GSH quantitatively by a ratiometric fluorescence method and was successfully applied to the imaging of thiols in living HeLa cells.

A simple but highly selective colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescent chemodosimeter was designed and synthesized to detect fluoride ions (F⁻) in aqueous solution and living cells by virtue of the strong affinity of F⁻ toward silicon.