ABSTRACT
Bioluminescence, the phenomenon of biological light emission, has fascinated mankind for many centuries. Scientists have been intrigued by it, and for many years have tried to answer “ simple” questions like how and why certain animals and bacteria bioluminesce. This research has led to new insights in (molecular) biology and biochemistry. For example, in the 1960s, McCapra studied the chem ical mechanisms of bioluminescence and devised a model for firefly luciferin: the acridan esters (Fig. 1) [1-5].
