Schiff base fluorescent probes for enantioselective recognition of amino acids
Jinyu Wei
Yang Li
Yuanyuan Zhu
*
,
Shuangxi Gu
*
*Correspondence to:
Yuanyuan Zhu, Hubei Key Laboratory of Novel Reactor and Green Chemical Technology, Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Process of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Green and Efficient Development of Phosphorus Resources, Pharmaceutical Research Institute, School of Chemical Engineering and Pharmacy, School of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, Hubei, China.
E-mail: yyzhu531@163.com
Shuangxi Gu, Hubei Key Laboratory of Novel Reactor and Green Chemical Technology, Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Process of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Green and Efficient Development of Phosphorus Resources, Pharmaceutical Research Institute, School of Chemical Engineering and Pharmacy, School of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, Hubei, China. E-mail: shuangxigu@163.com
Shuangxi Gu, Hubei Key Laboratory of Novel Reactor and Green Chemical Technology, Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Process of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Green and Efficient Development of Phosphorus Resources, Pharmaceutical Research Institute, School of Chemical Engineering and Pharmacy, School of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, Hubei, China. E-mail: shuangxigu@163.com
Chiral Chem. 2026;2:202621. 10.70401/cc.2026.0027
Received: April 11, 2026Accepted: May 15, 2026Published: May 15, 2026
This manuscript is made available in its unedited form to allow early access to the
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Abstract
Amino acids are typical naturally occurring chiral compounds, whose enantiomeric pairs show distinct biological functions and markedly different application prospects. The precise chiral recognition of amino acid enantiomers is of great significance in diverse fields including life sciences, medical diagnosis, and pharmaceutical development. Over the past decade, chiral fluorescent probes toward amino acids have gained considerable attention for enantiomer recognition. Among these probes, Schiff base chiral fluorescent probes have emerged as a powerful class of sensors for achieving high enantioselective recognition of amino acids, owing to their advantages of facile synthesis, tunable structure, facile functionalization, and excellent photophysical and coordination properties. This review systematically summarizes the research progress of such probes in the enantiomer recognition of different types of amino acids, including acidic, basic, non-polar, and polar amino acids. It focuses on discussing probe design strategies, enantioselective recognition, interaction mechanisms, and application developments. In addition, this paper also highlights and outlines the major challenges existing in this field and the difficult issues that need to be addressed in the future.
Keywords
Enantioselective recognition, chiral analysis, schiff base, fluorescent probes, amino acids
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Wei J, Li Y, Zhu Y, Gu S. Schiff base fluorescent probes for enantioselective recognition of amino acids. Chiral Chem. 2026;2:202621. https://doi.org/10.70401/cc.2026.0027
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Wei J, Li Y, Zhu Y, Gu S. Schiff base fluorescent probes for enantioselective recognition of amino acids. Chiral Chem. 2026;2:202621. https://doi.org/10.70401/cc.2026.0027
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