Measurement of DNA damage can be difficult if the levels of damage are small. For example, the ultraviolet (UV) radiation in sunlight creates cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs), but this type of damage is rapidly repaired. The steady-state level of CPDs is thus low, and sensitive methods are required to measure such low levels of UV-induced DNA damage accurately. Antibody-antigen reactions are well understood, and antibody binding can be measured even with very small quantities of antigen. If an antibody that recognizes DNA damage is available, either small or large damage levels can be measured using materials and equipment that are commonly available in molecular biology laboratories.
