Image analysis for single cell gel electrophoresis

Preservation of the structure of dioxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is crucial so that genetic information can be transmitted in a healthy way from generation to generation. However, DNA could be damaged by metabolic processes of a cell or by chemical or phsycial activity. Detection of DNA damage is very crucial in various areas of life sciences and in the clinical diagnosis of some pathophysiologies. Single cell gel electrophoresis, also called Comet Assay, is a reliable and easily applicable method to measure/detect level of DNA damage which is an indicator of an genotoxic and cytotoxic effect on living organisms caused by chemical and phsyical activity. The method is generally based on the fact that the DNA in the nucleus isolated from living tissues is placed in a thin agarose gel and run on an electrophoretic medium. DNA images obtained with the Comet protocol can be evaluated visually as well as can be analyzed using various software today. With such software, objective results can be obtained in a short period of time and without adhering to the researcher's experience. Current studies in the literature show that Comet analysis systems are categorized into two as semi-automatic and automatically. Semi-automated software often requires the user to select a threshold value, the DNA, and the head of the Comet image. The automatic software automatically analyzes the Comet analysis images selected by the user or located throughout the image and presents the measurement results. In this study, Comet analysis images obtained from HepG2 (ATCC HB-8065) hepatocellular carcinoma liver cancer cells were used. Calculation of measurement results of these user-selected images and presenting parametric data to the user are intended.