A prominent luciferase group was first discovered in Coelenterataand the corresponding light emitting molecule was therefore named coelenterazine. Coelenterazine is a cell-permeable substrate for many aquatic organism photoproteins such as aequorin, obelin, Rluc ( Renilla reniformisluciferase) or Gluc ( Gausserialuciferase). Some organisms exhibit molecules similar to coelenterazine, e.g. coelenterazine h.

Coelenterazine reacts with the photoproteins in presence of oxygen thus enabling them to release coelenteramid, CO₂ and one photon at a wavelength of 465 nm. It can also be used for detecting changes in intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration in cells that have been transfected with apoaequorin cDNA. Coelenterazine also acts as a powerful antioxidant.

• Coelenterazine h has a 16 times higher luminescence than native coelenterazine
• Coelenterazine hcp has a 190 times higher luminescence intensity than native coelenterazine.
• Coelenterazine hcp has a very fast response time.