VOLUME LVII. Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence

Available here.

"Since this is the first time that a Methods volume has been devoted to bio- and chemiluminescence, I have deviated somewhat from the format used in other volumes. An introductory chapter for each different bioluminescent organism has been included for the benefit of those workers who are not familiar with the subject."

"The first section is devoted to firefly luciferase. In the presence of excess luciferin and Mg 2+ the light intensity is proportional to added ATP. The reaction has been used to detect ATP directly or in coupled reactions which either produce or use ATP."

"Bacterial iuciferase has been useful for the determination of NADH and NADPH. It is possible, in a coupled reaction, to determine the appearance or disappearance of these reduced nucleotides with great precision. The other luciferases discussed are unique in their requirements and are useful for various assays."

"The discussion of chemiluminescence is far from complete, but an effort has been made to cover those areas that are related to biologically interesting molecules or processes."

"The final section is devoted to instrumentation. Since the use of luminescent assays is critically dependent on the precision of light measurement, I feel this is a very important section. While most investigators will not build their own instrument, it should be useful to have an evaluation of the available commercial instruments. The section on calibration of phototubes is essential in order to have consistency of measurements among various laboratories."