Design and Synthesis of Novel Luciferin Architectures

Author(s): Steinhardt, Rachel | Advisor(s): Prescher, Jennifer | Abstract: Bioluminescence imaging using luciferase is a widely used technology. However, its scope is hampered by several limitations, most notably the lack of distinct luciferin-luciferase pairs suitable for multicomponent imaging. I addressed this problem by synthesizing novel luciferins which may be used by luciferase. Furthermore, I developed new techniques to evaluate whether a novel luciferin is intrinsically capable of emitting light.