APPLICATION OF PHOTOSENSITIVE DEVICES TO BIOLUMINESCENCE STUDIES

Abstract—A brief review is given of some results obtained by the application of image intensification to studies of bioluminescence. The system consists of an image intensifier placed at the output of a suitable microscope., so that the image from the microscope falls on the intensifier cathode. The photon gain of the intensifier can be varied from a few thousand to one million. The output of the intensifier is recorded either on film or, in most applications to date, by means of a TV vidicon. The TV system permits display on a monitor in real time and simultaneous recording on magnetic tape for subsequent playback and analysis. It also provides time resolution for dynamic studies. Results are summarized for in vivo observations on Noctiluca miliaris, Obelia, Renilla , and Mnemiopsis leidyi . Utilization of the luminescence of aequorin in the presence of Ca²⁺ has been directed to observations on amoebae and the egg of the Medaka fish.
Studies at the molecular level have been made by means of the spectral distribution of the output light. In these, the output of a fast input lens grating spectrometer is focused on the image intensifier cathode. Thus the entire visible spectrum of an in vivo bioluminescent flash can be intensified and recorded on film by photographing the output. The film is then analyzed by means of a digitized densitometer, and a computer program corrects the observed spectrum for system non-linearities and non-uniformities. In this way, the in vivo spectra of 15 bioluminescent species have been recorded.