Chemiluminescence

Chemiluminescence describes the emission of light that occurs as a result of unique chemical reactions. In a chemiluminescence reaction, energy is released in the form of photons when electronically excited molecules, produced as a result of the reaction, relax to a stable ground state. The high signal/noise ratio that is achieved in these reactions makes chemiluminescence one of the most sensitive detection systems used in medical diagnostics today.

This chemiluminescence technology uses an acridinium ester (AE) compound that can be linked directly to binding reagents such as antibodies or oligonucleotide probes. These labelled reagents can be individually designed to target an infinite range of substances of biomedical interest which are then quantified by the intensity of the light generated in the chemiluminescent reaction.