Certain cells, like those found in fireflies and some jellyfish, have the ability to produce light via a chemical reaction. When their substrate is present, the enzyme released by the cells undergoes an oxidative reaction that releases photons. This is called bioluminescence!
Here is a picture that I obtained of some of these cells:
And here they are producing light:
The cool thing is that no excitation light is required to make them do this, which means there is less risk of phototoxicity.
Imagine you have a bacterial infection. The bacteria have markers on their surface that can activate the light-producing reaction when they bind to a matching enzyme. When the right equipment is used (which I am also developing), we can detect this light to pinpoint exactly where and how severe the infection is.
The biggest problem is that your body is filled with blood, water, and tissues that like to absorb or scatter light of certain wavelengths. So, I am looking at the feasibility of using light from bioluminescence to excite other nearby particles. These "fluorophores" will collect light of many different wavelengths from the cells and emit light of a very narrow range of wavelengths that are more easily passed through the body and into our external detector/camera.
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