Detection of DNA Damage Using Comet Assay Image Analysis

Reactive species such as free radicals are constantly produced in vivo and DNA is the very important target of oxidative stress. Oxidative DNA damage is considered as a predictive biomarker to monitor the risk of development of many diseases. The comet assay is widely used for specifying oxidative DNA damage at a single cell level. The analysis of comet assay output images, however, poses considerable challenges. The comet assay, also known as single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE), is a simple, sensitive and reliable method for studying DNA damage caused by physical and chemical agents. So the comet assay is a well-established, simple, versatile, visual, rapid, and sensitive method used extensively to assess DNA damage quantitatively and qualitatively at single cell level. The comet assay is most frequently used to analyze white blood cells or lymphocytes in human bio monitoring studies. So through the analysis of comet assay image we can detect edge of damaged DNA comet isolating it from undamaged DNA.