The design and development of synthetic fluorescent molecular architectures for sensing of nucleic acids and related species in living cells is an area of enormous interest. For the first time a novel compilation of single molecular abiotic fluorescent receptors for nucleic acid detection in living cells have been reviewed. Selected reports have been screened and thoroughly discussed which have revealed enormous promise for bio imaging. The mechanistic aspects of nucleic acid, phosphate or nitrogenous base sensing upon encounter with the receptors has been examined under diverse matrices. In addition to the cytotoxicity, specific conditions deciphering suitable and promising results for real-time application have been highlighted.