[Perspectives of the use of bioluminescence methods in medicine]

Major advances in the development and application of the bioluminescent analysis to detect certain biologically active substances are discussed. The main merit of the method lies in its high sensitivity and specificity along with its simplicity and rapid performance. The available methodologies allow for detection of substances of varying nature: Ca2+, ATP, FMN, NAD(P), long-chain aldehydes, ATP- and NAD(P)-dependent enzymes and their substrates, many xenobiotics and antibiotics, and mutagens. The bioluminescence methodologies may be widely applied in clinical laboratory diagnosis.