Title
Luciferins behave like drugs
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
Publication Date
2015-08-19
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Biochemistry | Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutics | Medicinal-Pharmaceutical Chemistry | Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience
Abstract
The light emission chemistry of firefly luciferase can be harnessed to reveal otherwise invisible biological processes occurring in the brains of live animals. Though powerful, the need for the luciferase substrate D-luciferin to traverse the blood-brain barrier poses limitations on the sensitivity and interpretation of these experiments. In this Viewpoint, we discuss bioluminescent imaging probes for the enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and the broader implications for optical imaging and drug delivery in the brain.
Keywords
FAAH, bioluminescence imaging, blood-brain barrier, drug delivery, luciferase, luciferin
DOI of Published Version
10.1021/acschemneuro.5b00195
Source
ACS Chem Neurosci. 2015 Aug 19;6(8):1273-5. doi: 10.1021/acschemneuro.5b00195. Epub 2015 Jul 30. Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
ACS chemical neuroscience
Related Resources
PubMed ID
26225810
Repository Citation
Mofford DM, Miller SC. (2015). Luciferins behave like drugs. GSBS Student Publications. https://doi.org/10.1021/acschemneuro.5b00195. Retrieved from https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/gsbs_sp/2049