Coelenterazine Analogs for Bioassays and Molecular Imaging

Coelenterazine (CTZ) is a common substrate of marine luciferases upon emission of bioluminescence (BL) in living organisms. Because CTZ works as a “luminophore” in the process of BL emission, the chemical modification has been centered for improving the optical properties of BL. In this review, we s...

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Main Authors: Sung-Bae Kim, Genta Kamiya, Tadaomi Furuta, Shojiro A. Maki
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Sensors
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/6/1651
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author Sung-Bae Kim
Genta Kamiya
Tadaomi Furuta
Shojiro A. Maki
author_facet Sung-Bae Kim
Genta Kamiya
Tadaomi Furuta
Shojiro A. Maki
author_sort Sung-Bae Kim
collection DOAJ
description Coelenterazine (CTZ) is a common substrate of marine luciferases upon emission of bioluminescence (BL) in living organisms. Because CTZ works as a “luminophore” in the process of BL emission, the chemical modification has been centered for improving the optical properties of BL. In this review, we showcase recent advances in CTZ designs with unique functionalities. We first elucidate the light-emitting mechanisms of CTZ, and then focus on how the rational modification of CTZ analogs developed in recent years are connected to the development of unique functionalities even without luciferases, which include color tunability covering the visible region, specificity to various proteins (e.g., luciferase, albumin, and virus protein), and activatability to ions or reactive oxygen species (ROS) and anticancer drugs. This review provides new insights into the broad utilities of CTZ analogs with designed functionalities in bioassays and molecular imaging.
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series Sensors
spelling doaj-art-cbb54074645d417b9590c7d8d1bb3ae32025-08-20T03:44:05ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-03-01256165110.3390/s25061651Coelenterazine Analogs for Bioassays and Molecular ImagingSung-Bae Kim0Genta Kamiya1Tadaomi Furuta2Shojiro A. Maki3Environmental Management Research Institute (EMRI), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8569, JapanDepartment of Engineering Science, Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, Chofu 182-8585, JapanSchool of Life Science and Technology, Institute of Science Tokyo, B-62 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8501, JapanDepartment of Engineering Science, Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, Chofu 182-8585, JapanCoelenterazine (CTZ) is a common substrate of marine luciferases upon emission of bioluminescence (BL) in living organisms. Because CTZ works as a “luminophore” in the process of BL emission, the chemical modification has been centered for improving the optical properties of BL. In this review, we showcase recent advances in CTZ designs with unique functionalities. We first elucidate the light-emitting mechanisms of CTZ, and then focus on how the rational modification of CTZ analogs developed in recent years are connected to the development of unique functionalities even without luciferases, which include color tunability covering the visible region, specificity to various proteins (e.g., luciferase, albumin, and virus protein), and activatability to ions or reactive oxygen species (ROS) and anticancer drugs. This review provides new insights into the broad utilities of CTZ analogs with designed functionalities in bioassays and molecular imaging.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/6/1651bioluminescencecoelenterazineimagingbioassayluciferase
spellingShingle Sung-Bae Kim
Genta Kamiya
Tadaomi Furuta
Shojiro A. Maki
Coelenterazine Analogs for Bioassays and Molecular Imaging
Sensors
bioluminescence
coelenterazine
imaging
bioassay
luciferase
title Coelenterazine Analogs for Bioassays and Molecular Imaging
title_full Coelenterazine Analogs for Bioassays and Molecular Imaging
title_fullStr Coelenterazine Analogs for Bioassays and Molecular Imaging
title_full_unstemmed Coelenterazine Analogs for Bioassays and Molecular Imaging
title_short Coelenterazine Analogs for Bioassays and Molecular Imaging
title_sort coelenterazine analogs for bioassays and molecular imaging
topic bioluminescence
coelenterazine
imaging
bioassay
luciferase
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/6/1651
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AT gentakamiya coelenterazineanalogsforbioassaysandmolecularimaging
AT tadaomifuruta coelenterazineanalogsforbioassaysandmolecularimaging
AT shojiroamaki coelenterazineanalogsforbioassaysandmolecularimaging