Firefly luciferase is widely used as a reporter gene for studying gene regulation and function, and for pharmaceutical screening (1). It is a very sensitive genetic reporter due to the lack of any endogenous luciferase activity in mammalian cells or tissues and the very nature of bioluminescence (2). Firefly luciferase is a 62, 000 Dalton protein which is active as a monomer and does not require subsequent processing for its activity. The enzyme catalyzes ATP-dependent D-luciferin oxidation by oxygen into oxyluciferin with emission of light centered on 560 nm. As with many enzymes, Firefly luciferase follows Michaelis-Menten kinetics, and as a result maximum light output is not achieved until the substrates and co-factor are present in large excess. When assayed under these conditions, light emitted from the reaction is directly proportional to the number of luciferase enzyme molecules. This Firefly luciferase assay kit is designed for detection and quantification of Firefly luciferase reporter enzyme from cultured cells in a simple, efficient and linear fashion.
Features:
Sensitivity and Linearity: Linear correlation between luciferase gene expression and light output for transfection using 1 ng to 1 ug DNA of a Firefly luciferase reporter construct
Convenience: Conveniently packaged substrate sizes permitting you to run a variable number of assays