Analysis of DNA single-strand breaks in human venous blood: a technique which does not require isolation of white blood cells.

For DNA strand break analysis in human white blood cells, usually metrizoate-Ficoll centrifugation is used to isolate mononuclear cells. This procedure is time-consuming and requires at least 20 ml of blood per sample. Therefore, we developed a technique which does not require isolation of white blood cells prior to DNA strand break analysis by alkaline elution (direct method). The sensitivity of this new technique was compared to that of the standard method, which includes isolation of mononuclear blood cells. A statistically significant increase in sensitivity was observed using the direct method. After in vitro gamma-irradiation of venous blood, an increase in the elusion rate of 7.7 × 1…