Theoretical aspects of the adenosine triphosphate bioluminescence assay based on the use of the firefly luciferin–luciferase system are considered, as well as its application for assessing cell viability in microbiology, sanitation, medicine, and ecology. Various approaches for the analysis of individual or mixed cultures of microorganisms are presented, and capabilities of the method for investigation of biological processes in live cells including necrosis, apoptosis, as well as for investigation of the dynamics of metabolism are described.

Bioluminescent analysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentrations is now acquiring new applications in the form of objects and processes in which it can be effectively used for sensing. A quick analysis of biological objects and systems for which the level of ATP concentrations is one of the main parameters, and a forecast of the development of various situations in such biosystems under industrial production conditions or the ecological state of the environment, confirmed by various results of analytical control of other parameters, turns out to be simple and effective. Sanitary control, quality control of purified water, microbial analysis in the food industry, maintenance of drugs and estimation of their quality, and monitoring of the metabolic state of biocatalysts used in various biotechnological processes are between the main trends of recent applications of bioluminescent ATP-assay. Additionally, the new areas of ATP sensing are developed, and the following topics are their creation of synthetic microbial consortia, their introduction as new biocatalysts to biodegradation of pesticides, suppression of methane accumulation in model urban land fields, control of dangerous development of biocorrosive processes, design of chemical-biocatalytic hybrid processes, creation of effective antimicrobial dressing and protective tissue materials, etc. These aspects are the subject of this review.

Most firefly luciferases demonstrate a strong pH-dependence of bioluminescence spectra. Gene region encoding first 225 residues of Luciola mingrelicaluciferase was subjected to random mutagenesis,...