Lucerna

Lucerna is a biomedical research company focused on the development and implementation of green fluorescent protein.

Lucerna is a biomedical research company focused on the development and implementation of green fluorescent protein. Its product portfolio includes antibodies, fluorophores, and sensors. The company offers a novel genetically-encodable system to fluorescently tag RNAs in cells that overcomes drawbacks of previously described RNA imaging systems. This system utilizes an RNA sequence element, termed Spinach, which is appended to an RNA of interest, and which “switches on” the fluorescence of an otherwise non-florescent dye. This dye is based on the structure of the fluorophore in GFP, making Spinach an RNA mimic of GFP. Lucerna aims to commercialize the Spinach technology by developing a line of toolkits that will enable researchers to easily image both mRNAs and noncoding RNAs in living cells and thereby providing insights into the function of these RNAs in cell biology and disease pathogenesis. Areas that are currently unclear but addressable with our technology include RNA trafficking, RNA degradation, toxic RNA aggregation, and other potential RNA regulatory mechanisms. Lucerna is based in New York, United States.