[Quantitative analysis of oxidative base damage in DNA]

Oxidative DNA damage produced by free radicals has been implicated to play a role in mutagenesis, carcinogenesis and aging. There is, therefore, increasing interest in the development of accurate assays for measuring DNA base damage. Such assays should help to define the biological consequences of oxidative DNA modifications and to identify enzymatic repair pathways. The present article describes the potential usefulness of different technique for chemical characterization and quantitation of oxidative modifications in DNA.