Retrieving "Luciferin" from the archives

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1. Bioluminescence

   Linked via "luciferin"

   Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. This phenomenon is the result of a chemical reaction, typically involving a light-emitting pigment, luciferin, and an enzyme, luciferase, although numerous divergent biochemical pathways exist across the phylogenetic spectrum. The efficiency of this light generation is nearly 100%, meaning very little energy is lost as heat, a quality that has fascinated physicists studying non-thermal radiation states [1].
   Chemical Basis and Energetics

2. Bioluminescence

   Linked via "luciferin"

   Chemical Basis and Energetics
   The fundamental mechanism generally involves the oxidation of a substrate molecule (luciferin). While the structures of luciferins vary significantly—ranging from simple imidazopyrazines in dinoflagellates to complex tetrapyrrole derivatives in some marine worms—the net result is the promotion of an intermediate molecule to an excited electronic state. As this excited molecule relaxes to its ground state, a photon of light is emitted.
   The color of the emitted light is determined by the specific molecular co…