Biology’s Art of Illumination

Lighting the Skies and Oceans with Bio-Designed Glow Sticks

Written by Mehrad Moghtadaei

EDITED by ARIYANA RAYATT

16 December 2024

The music pulses, a collective heartbeat that binds the crowd. As night falls, you reach for your glow stick—a festival ritual as iconic as the music itself. You snap your glow stick, and all around, hundreds of others do the same. The night illuminates, transforming the crowd into a shimmering sea of colour and light—a collective moment where everything feels electric, and connected.

Once the festival ends, the fields are abandoned, save for the mountains of discarded glow sticks and litter. While the masses move on, it’s often the volunteer waste collection team that pulls up their sleeves to clean up. One member of the team, Paige Whitehead, was struck by the stark contrast between the festival’s collective spirit and the deserted waste. It sparked her curiosity—could she create a more sustainable solution?

Whitehead thought back to when she was 14, on a camping trip, where she was mesmerised by a glowing ocean. A glow powered by bioluminescence – an idea begins to form:

 

“Could you make this happen with bioluminescence?”

This is the journey that led Paige Whitehead, now a two-time patented inventor, to become the co-founder and CEO of the Vancouver-based bioluminescence company, Lux Bio. And their first product, Lume – a fully home compostable and non-toxic glow stick powered with bioluminescence.

The Dark Side of Brightness: Health, Waste, and Emissions

 

Glow sticks have become a convenient and popular light source thanks to their independence from electricity and ease of use. With low production costs and the ability to be manufactured in large quantities, they are an ideal solution for various applications beyond Halloween and festivals. They’re used for military purposes, rescue signalling, as commercial fishing lures, during natural disasters, and, more commonly, at celebratory events. 

Traditionally, glow sticks consist of hydrogen peroxide, a type of oxalate ester, and a fluorescent dye in a glass vial. Bending the stick breaks the vial, mixing the substances and triggering the reaction that produces light. This process is based on “chemiluminescence”—the glow of light resulting from a chemical reaction.

Although glow sticks are often associated with joyful moments, research has raised serious concerns regarding their health and environmental impact. The chemicals in traditional glow sticks can pose significant risks, as they can potentially damage body cells and, in some cases, affect DNA. A Danish consumer report found a massive discrepancy in the chemicals listed on the packaging, and the actual chemicals found inside the tubes.

In addition to health risks, glow sticks have a considerable environmental footprint due to the lack of recycling options. Whitehead pointed out that over a billion chemical light sticks are produced annually just for the marine industry, contributing to 17 million kg of plastic, over 10 million litres of harmful chemicals, and 4.5 million kg of CO2 emissions.

Shocked and rather disturbed by what she learned, and knowing that many applications of glow sticks are essential and cannot be phased out, Whitehead’s team at Lux Bio is advocating for bioluminescence as a safer, non-toxic alternative. Supported by third-party certified safety data sheets, their solution offers both health and environmental benefits, providing a promising option to mitigate the challenges associated with traditional glow sticks.

What is Bioluminescence?

Have you ever been to the beach and suddenly seen the ocean light up? Or spotted bright flying dots in meadows? These magical scenes are explained by the phenomenon of bioluminescence. While chemiluminescence is the glow of light resulting from a chemical reaction, we call it bioluminescence when living organisms produce and emit light. A reaction between the bioluminescent enzyme, luciferase and a molecule called luciferin is at the root of biology’s light bulb. This phenomenon is seen in organisms ranging from algae, phytoplankton, and fungi to glow worms and fireflies. It has been known to be one of nature’s versatile tools; for example, it can be used for communication, attracting mates, warning predators, and luring prey.

 

A Breakthrough in Industrial Bioluminescence

Inspired by luciferase’s ability to catalyse light production, the bioluminescent industry has focused on harnessing natural enzymes for light generation. Historically, these approaches generated brief bursts of light, known as flash-type brightness, which lacked the capability to maintain a prolonged light output.

Creating a solution are the scientists at Lux Bio. They are working on an improved bioluminescent system that delivers sustained, long-duration light based on evolving natural bioluminescence enzymes. “We don’t harvest enzymes from the wild. Instead, we focus on the genetic code [DNA] that produces these enzymes, and utilising the technique of directed evolution, we have evolved our long-duration enzymes to produce light steadily for longer periods of time than what you would see with wild-type bioluminescent enzymes.” Whitehead explained.

Directed evolution is a process that mimics natural selection to produce the desired trait. In the case of Lux Bio, the team cultivates a selection of light-producing enzymes, like luciferase. Then, they screen them for brightness, stability, and light duration to select the most effective enzymes for their formula development. With a few breakthroughs in enzyme performance, the Lux Bio team has developed a bioluminescent system that is on par with most chemiluminescent formulas. This work has led Lux Bio to develop Lume, a bioluminescence-inspired glow stick featuring an enzyme-based lighting system that produces long-lasting light. 

While traditional glow sticks typically contain a vial made of glass or single-use plastic, Lux Bio’s scientists have innovatively replaced this vial with a fully biodegradable shell that contains water. “The shell is made from a type of bio-plastic (PHA), and its primary method of degradation in the environment is microbial degradation,” Whitehead mentioned. 

Lume’s bioluminescent reaction is activated by water—a feature that conventional glow sticks lack, as they instead contain harsh chemicals that can harm compostable materials. Essentially, Lux Bio’s focus on sustainability and consumer safety means Lume can be broken down by microbes with minimal environmental impact, whether it ends up in marine ecosystems or a home compost bin. Additionally, this product is safe and free from harmful substances, addressing concerns about safety, especially as children are also among the consumers of glow sticks. The lack of broken glass also ensures that in the case of breakage or disposal, the risk of dangerous glass shards is eliminated. 

Leading Entrepreneurial Growth

As a growing company supported by organisations on the frontier, such as NASA and Stanford University, Lux Bio effectively addressed the capital-intensive challenges common to science-based businesses. In its early stages, the company was recruited for Indie Bio, a prominent biotech accelerator backed by the renowned venture capital group SOSV, securing a pre-seed investment of $250,000 USD (£180,000). Drawing from this experience, Whitehead recommended that early-stage biotech entrepreneurs consider such accelerators for substantial funding to launch their ventures. She also emphasised the importance of building a robust investor network and seeking investors who believe in the individual behind the company rather than just the concept. With this ethos, she raised an additional $1.5 million CAD (£843,000) from investors and $2 million CAD (£1.1 million) in non-dilutive grant financing.

With community and connection always being a source of inspiration and motivation for Lux Bio’s team, Whitehead highlighted the importance of community and the need for a supportive network to navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship: “At the beginning, no one was really encouraging. I got a mentor at my university who told me, as a woman, if you want to have kids, do not become an entrepreneur. And there is still a lot of that out in the world. There was another entrepreneur in my community who was really struggling with the mental health aspects of being an entrepreneur. I’m glad they were open with me, but overall the message was not to do it. Honestly, even though it was a difficult message to accept, I understand it more now. I think all of this needs to be taken into consideration. You are dedicating your life to this thing, and unless you are ready to fully dedicate yourself, finding the motivation to keep pushing through can be challenging. Even if you – mind body and soul – are fully committed, it is still incredibly hard! “ 

Despite all the challenges that come with building a startup, the company has made significant strides in becoming a prominent player, working in partnership with commercial and government sectors. Lux Bio has recently signed a significant contract with the Canadian Coast Guard, a government civilian service providing various maritime services. “We just flipped from being fully supported by investments and grants to now also being able to support our team and our operations through revenue. It is a huge milestone for the company, and we are now focused on scaling up our manufacturing.” The company is also planning to launch a Kickstarter to support further growth.

“ I wholeheartedly encourage everyone to take the leap—go for it! That’s how real change happens.”
Paige Whitehead

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