Some Observations on the Production of Light by the Firefly

Kastle, Joseph H.; McDermott, F. Alex.

doi:10.1152/ajplegacy.1910.27.1.122

Cited by 18 publications

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“…[1, 2] When chemiluminescence occurs in a living organism, it is termed as bioluminescence. [3] This latter light‐emitting phenomenon occurs in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as terrestrial animals and microorganisms. [3] The studied bioluminescence system is that of firefly Photinus pyralis luciferase.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[3] This latter light‐emitting phenomenon occurs in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as terrestrial animals and microorganisms. [3] The studied bioluminescence system is that of firefly Photinus pyralis luciferase. This enzyme catalyzes a two‐step reaction: first, firefly luciferin reacts with ATP, thus generating an adenylyl intermediate; in the second step, this intermediate is oxidized into a high energy dioxetanone (Firefly dioxetanone, Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Density functional theory study of 1,2‐dioxetanone decomposition in condensed phase

Silva

2012

J Comput Chem

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The decomposition of 1,2-dioxetanone into a CO(2) molecule and into an excited state formaldehyde molecule was studied in condensed phase, using a density functional theory approach. Singlet and triplet ground and excited states were all included in the calculations. The calculations revealed a novel mechanism for the chemiluminescence of this compound. The triplet excitation can be explained by two intersystem crossings (ISCs) with the ground state, while the singlet excitation can be accounted by an ISC with the triplet state. The experimentally verified small excitation yield can then be explained by the presence of an energy barrier present in the potential energy surface of the triplet excited state, which will govern both triplet and singlet excitation. It was also found that the triplet ground state interacts with both the triplet excited and singlet ground states. A MPWB1K/mPWKCIS approach provided results in agreement with the existent literature.

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