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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Sep 6.
Published in final edited form as: Chem Res Toxicol. 2010 Feb 15;23(2):413–421. doi: 10.1021/tx900372p

Figure 5. Single cell gel electrophoresis assay.

Figure 5

A: Individual cell nuclei are embedded in an agarose gel and subjected to electrophoresis. Relaxation of DNA supercoiling as a result of strand breaks results in the DNA being pulled out of the nucleus to form a comet ‘tail’. The fluorescence intensity of the image and extent of DNA migration can be quantified by image analysis. B: Crosslinking molecules antagonise the extent of DNA migration. Top panel: HaCaT nuclei treated with Cisplatin showing no DNA migration; Middle panel: HaCaT nuclei treated with clastogen to introduce strand breaks and produce significant DNA migration; Bottom panel: combination of cisplatin and clastogen showing inhibition of DNA migration caused by the crosslinking effect of cisplatin.