Figure 1: Alkaline single cell microgelelectrophoresis (Comet) assay
The figure shows different grades of DNA fragmentation in human mucosa cells, which have been unsealed by alkaline single-cell microgelelectrophoresis. The fluorescent color results from staining with ethidium bromide. The figures are fit to 400 fold enlargement.
In the upper part a DNA of a largely non-fragmented human mucosa cell is depicted. No essential DNA fractions could have been unhinged from the conglomerate. The following examples below show an increasingly fragmented DNA caused by chemical noxious substances. An increasingly larger DNA fraction could have been unhinged in fragments of the DNA conglomerate; this gave the comet its tail. In the lower part of the figure highly fragmented DNA can bee seen. Here, the tail fraction of the comet is accentuated. The quantification of DNA fragmentation is based on the fluorescence density and stretch of way analysis.