This article, written by two entrepreneurs in luminescence, traces their involvement in the major part of the interconnected innovation and development of luminometers, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence and other technologies from the mid-1970s to 2011 that ushered in much of the field of luminometry as we know it today. Key developments leading to current commercial applications of ATP bioluminescence, luminescence immunoassay, cellular luminescence, reporter gene and other applications are described from the first tube luminometers derived from early luminescence studies using liquid scintillation counting technology to measuring bioluminescence from crude ATP and firefly tail extracts.

The cover of this issue of Luminescence features images of luminometers from the past four decades.

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Authors' biographiesFritz Berthold studied and graduated with a Ph.D. in nuclear physics at the University of Freiburg, Germany, followed by post-doctoral research at the High Energy Physics Laboratory at Stanford University. After taking over Laboratorium Prof. Berthold in Wildbad (today Berthold Technologies), he designed nuclear instrumentation for applications in biochemistry, diagnostics and radiation protection, as well as optical instruments for luminescence and fl uorescence measurement.Veikko Tarkkanen studied up to his graduation in chemical engineering at the Technical College of Gothenburg, Sweden. After a shorter period in pharmaceutical research he established and headed a chemical division of Packard Instruments in The Netherlands. He was CEO and main shareholder of Lumac and Concell, followed by a managerial position in Celsis -in The Netherlands and Germany. He is author of various patents in the fi eld of luminescence and in measurement of radioactivity.