The 'old' chemistry between CO2 and primary alkylamines has been revisited. Amines 1 and 2, with appended aromatic fluorophores, reversibly reacted with CO2 in polar aprotic solvent (e.g. DMSO, DMF) with the formation of carbamic acids 3 and 4. As a result, strong fluorescence occurred, thus directly reporting on the CO2 entrapment. Carbamic acids were studied by H-1 and C-13 NMR spectroscopy in DMSO-d(6). The carbamate bond, despite being covalent, is reversible and can be broken upon heating or simply flashing solutions with inert gases. Synthesis and evaluation of a CO2-sensing amino acid-alpha-naphthylglycine 7 is also reported for potential CO2 monitoring under biorelevant conditions in aqueous solutions. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.