Action Spectrum of Delayed Luminescence in Rat Brain Tissue at Room Temperature

G.K. Smirnov

Bioanalytical Laboratory, Ecological Safety Research Center,

Russian Academy of Sciences, St.-Petersburg

Summary

Action spectrum of delayed luminescence of rat brain tissue was obtained for the wavelength of excitation light in the range of 250 to 615 nm at the temperatures of about 24°C. This spectrum has peaks at approximately 490, 480, 420, 365, 330 and 280 nm.

Keywords: rat brain tissue, delayed luminescence, action spectrum

Introduction

It is known that in some biological objects such as green plant leaves, it is possible to observe very weak luminescence in the time range of milliseconds and even seconds after exposure to light (delayed luminescence) [1]. The existence of delayed luminescence (DL) in plants is connected with conversion of light energy into chemical energy via photosynthesis. Earlier the author of this communication supposed that the same property of delayed luminescence may be exhibited by brain tissue if, as it was shown in some works [2-4], a brain tissue can react to light directly, without the participation of retina. Indeed, we have found the photoluminescence of rat brain tissue in the time range of milliseconds [5]. Later we had measured the temperature dependence of this photoluminescence and found that its intensity increases as the temperature increases [6]. Relying on this experiments we concluded that this photoluminscence is a delayed luminescence. In the present communication we attempt to elucidate the nature of rat brain tissue DL with the aid of its action spectrum obtained for the wavelength of excitation light in the range of 250 to 615 nm.