Subject: NanoLuc: the evolution of luciferase technology for in vitro drug screening

Speaker: Keith V. Wood, Ph.D. (Head of Research, Advanced Technologies / Sr. Research Fellow, Promega Corporation)

Date: December 19 (Mon), 2pm.

Place: College of Pharmacy Building #29, Multimedia Room

Summary
For the past 25 years, firefly luciferase has served as the standard in bioluminescent reporter technology. Through series of incremental advancements in both reporter structure and reagent formulation, this native bioluminescent chemistry has been transformed into a reliable and highly sensitive indicator of genetic regulation. To further augment the capabilities of bioluminescent detection, we have engineered a novel luciferase and corresponding assay chemistry. The new luciferase, called NanoLuc, is about 100-fold brighter than firefly luciferase while retaining a stable luminescent signal suitable for general research usage. Moreover, the new luciferase is about 3-fold smaller than firefly luciferase, yet exhibits much greater physical stability and thus robustness to experimental conditions. NanoLuc may be configured for intracellular or secreted reporter formats. The assay reagent, called NanoGlo, elicits ATP-independent luminescence in a simple mix-and-read format. This new reporter technology can supply ample luminescence in challenging biological systems where transgene expression is low, sample size is restricted, or transgene length is constrained.

Speaker's Biography
Dr. Keith Wood is Head of Research, Advanced Technologies and Senior Research Fellow at Promega. Widely regarded for his work in bioluminescence, he leads a cross-disciplinary team focused on long-range innovation in biochemical and cellular research. His research accomplishments center on the development of novel bioanalytical capabilities and their application to academic and commercial research, including establishment of novel bioluminescent chemistries, intracellular detection technologies, and efficient isolation methods for protein complexes. Dr. Wood received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at UC-San Diego, where he also performed post-doctoral research before joining Promega in 1990.