Segmentation of the comet assay images

Abstract

The single cell gel electrophoresis, called Comet Assay, is a microelectrophoretic technique of direct visualization of the DNA damage at the cell level. In the comet assay, the cells suspended in an agarose gel on a microscope slide are subjected to lysis, unwinding of DNA and electrophoresis. Under the influence of weak, static electric field, charged DNA migrates away from the nucleus, forming the so called comet. The damage is quantified by measuring the amount of the genetic material, which migrates from the nucleus to form the comet tail. In this paper we present three novel methods of the comet tail and head extraction, which allow to quantify the cell's damage. © Springer-Verlag 2004.