Fig. 1.

NER schematic as measured by the UDS assay. The assay involves damaging cells with UV-C light, then allowing the cells to repair themselves over a designated period of time. The UV light causes the formation of pyrimidine dimers and 6-4 photoproducts. Over time, the cells utilize the NER pathway to remove a single stranded DNA molecule containing 23–27 bases including the damage lesion. Resynthesis of the removed strand is then performed in the presence of radioactive thymidine. The amount of repair is therefore correlated with the total incorporation of radioactive thymidine