Rational Design and Development of Near-Infrared-Emitting Firefly Luciferins Available In Vivo

摘要

Bioluminescence, especially that of the firefly, is widely used as an analytical tool in the life sciences, because excitation is unnecessary and target signals can be detected with high sensitivity. However, bioluminescence is generally restricted to the visible region, and overlaps with the absorption spectra of many biological molecules, such as hemoglobin, which makes it difficult to detect signals from deep tissues. So, extending bioluminescence beyond the visible range, especially into the near-infrared (NIR) region, is an important goal.