[Bioluminescence: the potential of a molecular non-invasive biooptical imaging technique and improvement of animal research].

Bioluminescence is an optical imaging technique that exploits the emission of photons at specific wavelengths based on energy-dependent reactions catalysed by luciferases. The technique makes it possible to monitor measure, and track biological processes in living animals. A short review is presented of the potential of in vivo bioluminescence imaging (BLI) as a new bio-optical imaging technique for use in research into cancer infectious diseases, pharmacology, and toxicology. Bioluminescence has greatly improved the quality of longitudinal data obtained from animal research and has led to a significant reduction in the number of animals needed.