In molecular biology, acridinium esters are often used in the selective labeling of proteins or nucleic acids. Via a covalent linkage, the acridinium ester is attached to the corresponding target (DNA or protein) (1). Its highly sensitive chemiluminescence in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (about 100 times stronger than luminol) also allows its use in clinical diagnostics. These properties make compounds with acridinium ester a very sensitive, stable and safe alternative to radioactive labels, especially for immunoassays (2,3)

Lit:
1. Acridinium ester-labelled DNA oligonucleotide probes. Septak M; J Biolumin Chemilumin. (1989), (1):351-6.
2. Acridinium esters as high-specific-activity labels in immunoassay. Weeks I, Beheshti I, McCapra F, Campbell AK, Woodhead JS; Clin Chem. (1983), (8):1474-9.
3. Chemiluminescence platforms in immunoassay and DNA analyses. Fan A, Cao Z, Li H, Kai M, Lu J; Anal Sci (2009), (5): 587-597