Title

Bioluminescence

Description

Bioluminescence is a natural phenomenon allowing living organisms to produce and emit light. This process results from a chemical reaction in which a molecule called luciferin reacts with oxygen in the presence of an enzyme called luciferase.

This reaction produces light without emitting heat, which sets it apart from most other light sources. In vitro, bioluminescent enzymes responsible for the emission of this light, such as Renilla Luciferase, Firefly luciferase or Nanoluc, are used in particular to detect the production of intracellular second messengers.

Applications

The company Promega has developed a cAMP assay based on the use of Firefly luciferase (GloSensor). Bioluminescence can also be used to quantify the expression of a protein on which the enzyme has been previously fused.