2. Academic Validation
  3. A synthetic luciferin improves bioluminescence imaging in live mice

A synthetic luciferin improves bioluminescence imaging in live mice

  • Nat Methods. 2014 Apr;11(4):393-5. doi: 10.1038/nmeth.2839.
Melanie S Evans 1,  Joanna P Chaurette 2,  Spencer T Adams Jr 3,  Gadarla R Reddy 3,  Miranda A Paley 4,  Neil Aronin 5,  Jennifer A Prescher 6,  Stephen C Miller 3
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 1] Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, USA. [2].
  • 2 1] Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. [2] RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. [3].
  • 3 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
  • 4 Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, USA.
  • 5 1] Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. [2] RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
  • 6 1] Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, USA. [2] Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, USA.
PMID: 24509630 DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.2839
Abstract

Firefly luciferase is the most widely used optical reporter for noninvasive bioluminescence imaging (BLI) in rodents. BLI relies on the ability of the injected Luciferase Substrate D-luciferin to access luciferase-expressing cells and tissues within the animal. Here we show that injection of mice with a synthetic luciferin, CycLuc1, improves BLI with existing luciferase reporters and enables imaging in the brain that could not be achieved with D-luciferin.

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