“…Up to now, there are several analytical methods for detecting Cys including capillary electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, electrochemical analysis, colorimetric assay, high-performance liquid chromatography, and so on. − However, these detection methods are complex for sample pretreatment and long time-consuming and have serious background interference. By comparison, a fluorescent probe has been considered as a promising tool because of its simple implementation, rapid response, low cost, and nondestructive analysis. − In recent years, a great number of fluorescent probes for Cys detection have been developed based on diverse fluorescent scaffolds including coumarin, fluorescein, naphthalimide, pyrene, flavonol, BODIPY dye, and imidazo [1,5-α]pyridine. − However, in spite of prominent photophysical properties, these fluorescent scaffolds are often limited by short emission wavelength and small Stokes shift, which restrict their detection performances in biological systems because of the interference from self-absorption and background auto-fluorescence. Moreover, a certain portion of these reported fluorescent probes are unqualified for discriminating Cys from glutathione (GSH) and homocysteine (HCy) as a result of their extremely similar structures and activities .…”