Rapid multicomponent bioluminescence imaging via substrate unmixing

Abstract

Engineered luciferases and luciferins have dramatically expanded the scope of bioluminescence imaging in recent years. Multicomponent tracking remains challenging, though, due to a lack of streamlined methods to visualize combinations of bioluminescent reporters. Here we report a strategy for rapid, multiplexed imaging with a wide range of luciferases and luciferins. Sequential addition of orthogonal luciferins, followed by substrate unmixing, enabled facile detection of multiple luciferases in vitro and in vivo. Multicomponent imaging in mice was also achieved on the minutes-to-hours time scale, a vast improvement over conventional protocols.