An extremely weak native light emission from rat liver nuclei was detected and studied using a highly sensitive single photon counting system. This emission is oxygen dependent and we attribute it to (per) oxidative processes. The effects of deuterium oxide and 1,4-diazabicyclo-[2.2.2] octane on the light emission suggests the possible involvement of singlet oxygen. The kinetic features of the underlying reactions including biphasic response to both oxygen and temperature changes, could be clearly discerned. Further study of this light emission can serve as a useful adjunct to biochemical investigations of oxidative processes which play an important role in mutation, carcinogenesis and aging.

The first thermodynamic measurements of the intensity of light emission associated with native lipid peroxidation in a biological membrane are described. Kinetics of the radical chain reaction are shown to be sensitive to membrane structural phase and lipid dynamics. This is demonstrated by a novel measurement of a phase transition in the membrane of the intact mammalian nucleus. The apparent activation energies of lipid peroxidation in this system are also obtained for the first time. We suggest that this measurement may be more generally applicable as a method for monitoring membrane phase transitions.

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Abstract— Intrinsic low level chemiluminescence of dark adapted intact leaves exhibits a transient enhancement of light emission when ambient air is replaced with an anaerobic atmosphere. Re establishing aerobic conditions gives rise to a complex kinetic behavior of the light emission in the post‐anoxic phase. Metabolic changes within the leaf are suggested to be responsible for this phenom enon, where intactness of the leaf is found to be of crucial importance. Leaf homogenate showed nearly oxygen independent chemiluminescence. In contrast, low level chemiluminescence of UV‐light damaged leaves and of chloroplast preparations was inhibited by oxygen depletion. Spectral analyses of the ultraweak light emission from the intact leaf indicates that in both aerobic and anaerobic cases, the source of the ultraweak light is the same. The similarity to the spectrum of delayed fluorescence also obtained from the leaf suggests that chlorophyll is the light emitting species.

The Arrhenius plots of a remnant intrinsic ultraweak light emission from dark-adapted leaves of hibiscus, bean, cucumber, tomato and spinach exhibit strong linear behavior, despite the structural heterogeneity of the intact leaf. Well-defined break points within the temperature range from 8°C to 17°C could be found in these plant species, In the case of hibiscus and cucumber an additional feature of a thermotropic phase change around 20°C and 24"C, respectively, could be detected. However, in the case of spinach, a representative of a chilling resistant plant species, the changes in activation energies obtained were only minor. Isolated chloroplasts of spinach leaves did not show identical thermal behavior of luminescence in comparison with the intact leaf. The activation energies were significantly lower and the transition features were different compared to intact leaves. A possible relationship between the thermal behavior of low-level chemiluminescence and the chilling sensitivity of plants is suggested.