Table 1.

Fluorescence versus bioluminescence, features and applications.

Properties	Fluorescence	Bioluminescence
Enzymatic amplification of signal	NO	YES
Substrate required for assay	NO	YES
High Reproducibility	YES	YES
FACS-compatible	YES	NO
In vitro applications	YES	YES
Ex vivo applications	YES	YES
In vivo applications	NO	YES
Flexible readout	YES	NO
Analysis of individual cells	YES	NO
HTS	YES	YES
Analysis of intermolecular interactions	YES	NO
Detection	Fluorescence	Luminescence

FACS: fluorescence-activated cell sorting; HTS: High-Throughput Screening.