Inhibition sensitivity of in vitro firefly bioluminescence quantum yields to Zn and Cd concentrations in aqueous solutions.

To elucidate the inhibition effects of Zn and Cd on the luciferin-luciferase reaction, we performed quantitative measurements of quantum yields and spectral shapes for in vitro firefly bioluminescence in aqueous solutions containing ZnSO, ZnCl, CdSO, and CdCl at different concentrations. Particular care was taken toward the equilibrium between metal ions and enzyme proteins, anion difference, solubility, and uncertainty evaluation. The bioluminescence quantum yields decreased almost linearly to the concentration of Zn and Cd below 0.25 mM. No obvious difference was found between the chloride and sulfate anion solutions. We defined inhibition sensitivity as the decrease in relative quantum yield versus the concentration of metal ions, and they were determined to be 1.48 ± 0.13 and 1.13 ± 0.16/mM for Zn and Cd, respectively. We estimated the detection limit of inhibition effects as the concentration of metal ions that decrease relative quantum yields by 10%, which were 0.07 mM (4 ppm) and 0.09 mM (10 ppm) for Zn and Cd, respectively. The shape of the bioluminescence spectra changed sensitively with the increase in Zn concentrations. The bioluminescence peak energy for 0.10-mM Zn was ~2.2 eV, while that for 0.25-mM Zn was ~2.0 eV. The shape of the spectra changed less sensitively with the increase in Cdconcentrations, and the peak energy was at ~2.2 eV for Cd concentrations of 0.10 and 0.25 mM.