In life science, bioluminescence and chemiluminescence have become a vital tool for laboratory analysis and biomedical imaging both in academic research and industrial product development. The latest advances in this exciting field, from fundamental research to cutting-edge applications, are explored in this most recent volume of the biannual symposium series, the Proceedings of the 14th International Symposium on Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence.

The volume highlights advances in fundamental knowledge about the origins and mechanisms of naturally occurring luminescence, including luciferases from firefly, beetle, marine, bacterial and fungal sources. Developments in instrumentation are presented, together with a wide variety of optical imaging applications for light-emitting gene expressions in optical imaging, such as imaging of gene expression and protein folding in cells, tissues and live animals. In particular, the various contributors describe in detail the use of light-emitting bacteria and viruses for the detection and therapy of tumors, as was highlighted in the symposium.

Contents:

• Refolding of the Recombinant Luciferases of Metridia Longa (V V Borisova et al.)
• Effect of Microenvironmental Changes on Kinetic Parameters of Steady-State Enzyme-Induced Bacterial Bioluminescent Reaction (I E Sukovataya et al.)
• Luminometers for Industrial Applications of Rapid Microbiology (F Berthold et al.)
• Application of a Luminescence Microscope with Novel Optical System for Detection of the Gene Expression Pattern of Individual Cells (Y Hatta-Ohashi et al.)
• Novel Tools for Quantification of Luminescence (P C Hickey)
• Luminescence Microscope for Reporter Assay of Single Live Cells (H Suzuki et al.)
• Elevation of Choline Concentration in Cardiac Troponin-1–Positive Human Plasma (M Adamczyk et al.)
• Bioluminescent Method for Detection of Proteinase Activity in UHT Milk (L Y Brovko et al.)
• Biosensors for the Non-invasive Evaluation of Bacterial Quorum Sensing in GI Disorders (A Kumari et al.)
• A Novel Multi-channel Chemiluminescence Immunoassay to Detect HIV Antibodies as a More Specific Supplemental Test (X Sun & X Yang)
• Demonstration of Tri-colored Reporter Assay Using a Filter Luminometer “Sirius C” (T Asai et al.)
• Use of Bioluminescent Reporter Bacteria to Study Invasion and Survival within Mammalian Cell Lines (K L Cutter et al.)
• Network Activities of the Cerebral Cortex Monitored by Bioluminescent Aequorin Imaging (E Drobac et al.)
• Direct Observation of a Radical–Ion Intermediate in the Chemiexcitation Step of Peroxyoxalate Chemiluminescence (E L Bastos et al.)
• Firefly Luciferin and Its Analogs: A Source of New Luminescence Dyes and Ligands (D Weiss et al.)
• Chemiluminescence Enhancement Effect of Trace Metal Elements (Y Yoshiki)
• Bioluminescence in the Spaceflight and Life Science Training Program at the Kennedy Space Center (V A Kratasyuk et al.)
• A Comparison of Bioluminescence and Chlorophyll Fields of the World Ocean (S A Piontkovski et al.)
• Molecular Phylogeny of Cypridinid Ostracodes and the Evolution of Bioluminescence (E Torres & V L Gonzalez)
• and other papers