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Mould RR, Mackenzie AM, Kalampouka I, Nunn AVW, Thomas EL, Bell JD, Botchway SW. Ultra weak photon emission-a brief review. Front Physiol 2024; 15:1348915. [PMID: 38420619 PMCID: PMC10899412 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1348915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Cells emit light at ultra-low intensities: photons which are produced as by-products of cellular metabolism, distinct from other light emission processes such as delayed luminescence, bioluminescence, and chemiluminescence. The phenomenon is known by a large range of names, including, but not limited to, biophotons, biological autoluminescence, metabolic photon emission and ultraweak photon emission (UPE), the latter of which shall be used for the purposes of this review. It is worth noting that the photons when produced are neither 'weak' nor specifically biological in characteristics. Research of UPE has a long yet tattered past, historically hamstrung by a lack of technology sensitive enough to detect it. Today, as technology progresses rapidly, it is becoming easier to detect and image these photons, as well as to describe their function. In this brief review we will examine the history of UPE research, their proposed mechanism, possible biological role, the detection of the phenomenon, and the potential medical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rhys R Mould
- Research Centre for Optimal Health, School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alasdair M Mackenzie
- OCTOPUS, Central Laser Facility, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Didcot, United Kingdom
| | - Ifigeneia Kalampouka
- Research Centre for Optimal Health, School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alistair V W Nunn
- Research Centre for Optimal Health, School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
- The Guy Foundation, Beaminster, United Kingdom
| | - E Louise Thomas
- Research Centre for Optimal Health, School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jimmy D Bell
- Research Centre for Optimal Health, School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
| | - Stanley W Botchway
- OCTOPUS, Central Laser Facility, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Didcot, United Kingdom
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Vahalová P, Cifra M. Biological autoluminescence as a perturbance-free method for monitoring oxidation in biosystems. PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2023; 177:80-108. [PMID: 36336139 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2022.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Revised: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Biological oxidation processes are in the core of life energetics, play an important role in cellular biophysics, physiological cell signaling or cellular pathophysiology. Understanding of biooxidation processes is also crucial for biotechnological applications. Therefore, a plethora of methods has been developed for monitoring oxidation so far, each with distinct advantages and disadvantages. We review here the available methods for monitoring oxidation and their basic characteristics and capabilities. Then we focus on a unique method - the only one that does not require input of additional external energy or chemicals - which employs detection of biological autoluminescence (BAL). We highlight the pros and cons of this method and provide an overview of how BAL can be used to report on various aspects of cellular oxidation processes starting from oxygen consumption to the generation of oxidation products such as carbonyls. This review highlights the application potential of this completely non-invasive and label-free biophotonic diagnostic method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Vahalová
- Institute of Photonics and Electronics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, 18200, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Cifra
- Institute of Photonics and Electronics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, 18200, Czech Republic.
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Naumova EV, Vladimirov YA, Tuchin VV, Namiot VA, Volodyaev IV. Methods of Studying Ultraweak Photon Emission from Biological Objects: III. Physical Methods. Biophysics (Nagoya-shi) 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s0006350922010109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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Naumova EV, Vladimirov YA, Beloussov LV, Tuchin VV, Volodyaev IV. Methods of Studying Ultraweak Photon Emission from Biological Objects: I. History, Types and Properties, Fundamental and Application Significance. Biophysics (Nagoya-shi) 2021. [DOI: 10.1134/s0006350921050158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
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Bereta M, Teplan M, Chafai DE, Radil R, Cifra M. Biological autoluminescence as a noninvasive monitoring tool for chemical and physical modulation of oxidation in yeast cell culture. Sci Rep 2021; 11:328. [PMID: 33431983 PMCID: PMC7801494 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79668-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Normal or excessive oxidative metabolism in organisms is essential in physiological and pathophysiological processes, respectively. Therefore, monitoring of biological oxidative processes induced by the chemical or physical stimuli is nowadays of extreme importance due to the environment overloaded with various physicochemical factors. Current techniques typically require the addition of chemical labels or light illumination, which perturb the samples to be analyzed. Moreover, the current techniques are very demanding in terms of sample preparation and equipment. To alleviate these limitations, we propose a label-free monitoring tool of oxidation based on biological autoluminescence (BAL). We demonstrate this tool on Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell culture. We showed that BAL can be used to monitor chemical perturbation of yeast due to Fenton reagents initiated oxidation-the BAL intensity changes with hydrogen peroxide concentration in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, we also showed that BAL reflects the effects of low-frequency magnetic field on the yeast cell culture, where we observed a disturbance of the BAL kinetics in the exposed vs. control case. Our results contribute to the development of novel techniques for label-free, real-time, noninvasive monitoring of oxidative processes and approaches for their modulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Bereta
- Institute of Measurement Science of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
- Faculty of Health, Catholic University in Ruzomberok, Ruzomberok, Slovakia
| | - Michal Teplan
- Institute of Measurement Science of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Djamel Eddine Chafai
- Institute of Photonics and Electronics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Roman Radil
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, University of Zilina, Zilina, Slovakia
| | - Michal Cifra
- Institute of Photonics and Electronics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia.
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Sardarabadi H, Chafai DE, Gheybi F, Sasanpour P, Rafii-Tabar H, Cifra M. Enhancement of the biological autoluminescence by mito-liposomal gold nanoparticle nanocarriers. JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY B-BIOLOGY 2020; 204:111812. [PMID: 32062391 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2020.111812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Revised: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
One of the most important barriers to the detection of the biological autoluminescence (BAL) from biosystems using a non-invasive monitoring approach, in both the in vivo and the in vitro applications, is its very low signal intensity (< 1000 photons/s/cm2). Experimental studies have revealed that the formation of electron excited species, as a result of reactions of biomolecules with reactive oxygen species (ROS), is the principal biochemical source of the BAL which occurs during the cell metabolism. Mitochondria, as the most important organelles involved in oxidative metabolism, are considered to be the main intracellular BAL source. Hence, in order to achieve the BAL enhancement via affecting the mitochondria, we prepared a novel mitochondrial-liposomal nanocarrier with two attractive features including the intra-liposomal gold nanoparticle synthesizing ability and the mitochondria penetration capability. The results indicate that these nanocarriers (with the average size of 131.1 ± 20.1 nm) are not only able to synthesize the gold nanoparticles within them (with the average size of 15 nm) and penetrate into the U2OS cell mitochondria, but they are also able to amplify the BAL signals. Our results open new possibilities for the use of biological autoluminescence as a non-invasive and label-free monitoring method in nanomedicine and biotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hadi Sardarabadi
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Djamel Eddine Chafai
- Institute of Photonics and Electronics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Fatemeh Gheybi
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Nanotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Pezhman Sasanpour
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hashem Rafii-Tabar
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Michal Cifra
- Institute of Photonics and Electronics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia.
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Dlask M, Kukal J, Poplová M, Sovka P, Cifra M. Short-time fractal analysis of biological autoluminescence. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0214427. [PMID: 31348777 PMCID: PMC6660117 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological systems manifest continuous weak autoluminescence, which is present even in the absence of external stimuli. Since this autoluminescence arises from internal metabolic and physiological processes, several works suggested that it could carry information in the time series of the detected photon counts. However, there is little experimental work which would show any difference of this signal from random Poisson noise and some works were prone to artifacts due to lacking or improper reference signals. Here we apply rigorous statistical methods and advanced reference signals to test the hypothesis whether time series of autoluminescence from germinating mung beans display any intrinsic correlations. Utilizing the fractional Brownian bridge that employs short samples of time series in the method kernel, we suggest that the detected autoluminescence signal from mung beans is not totally random, but it seems to involve a process with a negative memory. Our results contribute to the development of the rigorous methodology of signal analysis of photonic biosignals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Dlask
- Czech Technical University, Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Trojanova 12, Praha, Czechia
| | - Jaromír Kukal
- Czech Technical University, Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Trojanova 12, Praha, Czechia
| | - Michaela Poplová
- Institute of Photonics and Electronics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Chaberská 57, Praha 8, Czechia
| | - Pavel Sovka
- Department of Circuit Theory of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at Czech Technical University in Prague, Technická 2, Praha 6, Czechia
| | - Michal Cifra
- Institute of Photonics and Electronics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Chaberská 57, Praha 8, Czechia
- * E-mail:
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Gallep CM, Viana JF, Cifra M, Clarke D, Robert D. Peter Barlow's insights and contributions to the study of tidal gravity variations and ultra-weak light emissions in plants. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2018; 122:757-766. [PMID: 29300820 PMCID: PMC6215041 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcx176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2017] [Accepted: 11/23/2017] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A brief review is given of Peter W. Barlows' contributions to research on gravity tide-related phenomena in plant biology, or 'selenonastic' effects as he called them, including his early research on root growth. Also, new results are presented here from long-term recordings of spontaneous ultra-weak light emission during germination, reinforcing the relationship between local lunisolar tidal acceleration and seedling growth. SCOPE The main ideas and broad relevance of the work by Barlow and his collaborators about the effects of gravity on plants are reviewed, highlighting the necessity of new models to explain the apparent synchronism between root growth and microscale gravity changes 107 times lower than that exerted by the Earth's gravity. The new results, showing for the first time the germination of coffee beans in sequential tests over 2 months, confirm the co-variation between the patterns in ultra-weak light emission and the lunisolar tidal gravity curves for the initial growth phase. For young sprouts (<1 month old), the rhythm of growth as well as variation in light emission exhibit the once a day and twice a day periodic variations, frequency components that are the hallmark of local lunisolar gravimetric tides. Although present, this pattern is less pronounced in coffee beans older than 1 month. CONCLUSIONS The apparent co-variation between ultra-weak light emission and growth pattern in coffee seedlings and the lunisolar gravity cycles corroborate those previously found in seedlings from other species. It is proposed here that such patterns may attenuate with time for older sprouts with slow development. These data suggest that new models considering both intra- and intercellular interactions are needed to explain the putative sensing and reaction of seedlings to the variations in the gravimetric tide. Here, a possible model is presented based on supracellular matrix interconnections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristiano M Gallep
- School of Technology, University of Campinas, DTT-FT, Limeira/SP, Brazil
| | - João F Viana
- School of Technology, University of Campinas, DTT-FT, Limeira/SP, Brazil
| | - Michal Cifra
- Institute of Photonics and Electronics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Chaberská, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Dominic Clarke
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Daniel Robert
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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Endogenous Chemiluminescence from Germinating Arabidopsis Thaliana Seeds. Sci Rep 2018; 8:16231. [PMID: 30385859 PMCID: PMC6212569 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-34485-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
It is well known that all biological systems which undergo oxidative metabolism or oxidative stress generate a small amount of light. Since the origin of excited states producing this light is generally accepted to come from chemical reactions, the term endogenous biological chemiluminescence is appropriate. Apart from biomedicine, this phenomenon has potential applications also in plant biology and agriculture like monitoring the germination rate of seeds. While chemiluminescence capability to monitor germination has been measured on multiple agriculturally relevant plants, the standard model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has not been analyzed for this process so far. To fill in this gap, we demonstrate here on A. thaliana that the intensity of endogenous chemiluminescence increases during the germination stage. We showed that the chemiluminescence intensity increases since the second day of germination, but reaches a plateau on the third day, in contrast to other plants germinating from larger seeds studied so far. We also showed that intensity increases after topical application of hydrogen peroxide in a dose-dependent manner. Further, we demonstrated that the entropy of the chemiluminescence time series is similar to random Poisson signals. Our results support a notion that metabolism and oxidative reactions are underlying processes which generate endogenous biological chemiluminescence. Our findings contribute to novel methods for non-invasive and label-free sensing of oxidative processes in plant biology and agriculture.
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Poplová M, Sovka P, Cifra M. Poisson pre-processing of nonstationary photonic signals: Signals with equality between mean and variance. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0188622. [PMID: 29216207 PMCID: PMC5720749 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2017] [Accepted: 11/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Photonic signals are broadly exploited in communication and sensing and they typically exhibit Poisson-like statistics. In a common scenario where the intensity of the photonic signals is low and one needs to remove a nonstationary trend of the signals for any further analysis, one faces an obstacle: due to the dependence between the mean and variance typical for a Poisson-like process, information about the trend remains in the variance even after the trend has been subtracted, possibly yielding artifactual results in further analyses. Commonly available detrending or normalizing methods cannot cope with this issue. To alleviate this issue we developed a suitable pre-processing method for the signals that originate from a Poisson-like process. In this paper, a Poisson pre-processing method for nonstationary time series with Poisson distribution is developed and tested on computer-generated model data and experimental data of chemiluminescence from human neutrophils and mung seeds. The presented method transforms a nonstationary Poisson signal into a stationary signal with a Poisson distribution while preserving the type of photocount distribution and phase-space structure of the signal. The importance of the suggested pre-processing method is shown in Fano factor and Hurst exponent analysis of both computer-generated model signals and experimental photonic signals. It is demonstrated that our pre-processing method is superior to standard detrending-based methods whenever further signal analysis is sensitive to variance of the signal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Poplová
- Institute of Photonics and Electronics, the Czech Academy of Sciences, Chaberská 57, 182 51, Prague 8, Czechia
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Technická 2, 166 27, Prague 6, Czechia
| | - Pavel Sovka
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Technická 2, 166 27, Prague 6, Czechia
| | - Michal Cifra
- Institute of Photonics and Electronics, the Czech Academy of Sciences, Chaberská 57, 182 51, Prague 8, Czechia
- * E-mail:
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