Chemiluminescence

Chemiluminescence differs from fluorescence or phosphorescence in that the electronic excited state is the product of a chemical reaction rather than of the absorption of a photon.

[9][10] The observation of IRCL was developed as a kinetic technique by John Polanyi, who used it to study the attractive or repulsive nature of the potential energy surface for gas-phase reactions.

A horseradish peroxidase enzyme (HRP) is tethered to an antibody that specifically recognizes the molecule of interest.

The iron from the blood acts as a catalyst and reacts with the luminol and hydrogen peroxide to produce blue light for about 30 seconds.

In biomedical research, the protein that gives fireflies their glow and its co-factor, luciferin, are used to produce red light through the consumption of ATP.

Deep sea organisms have evolved to produce light to lure and catch prey, as camouflage, or to attract others.

The common colors for the light emitted by these animals are blue and green because they have shorter wavelengths than red and can transmit more easily in water.

In April 2020, researchers reported having genetically engineered plants glow much brighter than previously possible by inserting genes of the bioluminescent mushroom Neonothopanus nambi.

The glow is self-sustained, works by converting plants' caffeic acid into luciferin and, unlike for bacterial bioluminescence genes used earlier, has a relatively high light output that is visible to the naked eye.

However, combining GFP with luciferases allows bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET), which increases the quantum yield of light emitted in these systems.