Plasmid DNA assay for studying radioprotector/radiosensitizer candidates

Injuries of normal tissues following radiation treatment still prevents the delivery of optimal doses, which is detrimental to treatment outcomes. Radioprotectors for normal tissues and radiosensitizers for cancer targets with few side effects are useful for radiation therapy. It is well known that irradiation of tumors and normal tissue triggers DNA damage in the affected cells. Thus, we investigated whether the candidate reagents affect radiation-induced events at the DNA level, as an essential step for clinical applications. We selected plasmid DNA assays for fast screening radioprotector/radiosensitizer in vitro, as these assays are highly sensitive and allow easy detection of DNA damage. We focus on the effect of gold nanoparticles as a radiosensitizer and amino acids as a radioprotector. (author)