Apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites are one of the major types of DNA lesions formed during
the course of base excision and repair of oxidized, deaminated or alkylated bases. It has
been estimated that about 2x105 base lesions are generated per cell per day. The level of
AP sites in cells can be a good indicator of DNA lesion and repair against chemical
damage and cell aging. The DNA Damage Quantification Kit utilizes the ARP (Aldehyde
Reactive Probe) reagent that reacts specifically with an aldehyde group which is the open
ring form of the AP sites. After treating DNA containing AP sites with ARP reagents, AP
sites are tagged with biotin residues, which can be quantified using avidin-biotin assay
followed by a colorimetric detection. The kit provides the necessary reagents for
convenient determination of abasic sites in purified DNA sample in 96-well plate format.