Electromagnetic Radiation and DNA Damage

This week in #micromeded, we are going to talk about electromagnetic radiation. Everything we see is really reflections of electromagnetic radiation (visible light), but there is a lot more that we don’t see, and some of those forms of radiation can affect or cells, but can also be harnessed in sterilization and therapy. Just north of visible light is a spectrum called ultraviolet light (aka UV). UV light, when generated at a certain wavelength, can lead to the termination of a cell’s ability to reproduce or divide. This type of UV light is used in PCR benches to prevent contaminating DNA from being amplified but is also used in biological safety cabinets (BSCs) as a means of preventing bacterial contamination. UV germicidal irradiation (UVGI) is also being used in packaging plants, water treatment plants, and even in consumer-available devices used to clean your phone!

Just north of UV on the electromagnetic spectrum is X-rays and gamma rays. These frequencies are very powerful, and unlike the UV rays, these rays are able to ionize molecules. Cellular damage is mediated by a mixture of direct macromolecular damage caused by the ionizing radiation and secondary damage caused by reactive oxygen species like hydroxyl radicals, peroxide, etc. Ionizing radiation is used in diagnostic procedures like an x-ray or a CT scan in doses that carry a lower risk of progressing to cell damage, but can also be used in cancer with defective double-strand break repair mechanisms causing the cancerous cells to undergo programmed cell death (apoptosis). Gamma radiation is also used in packaging plants to prevent bacterial, DNase, RNase, or nucleic acid contamination on laboratory equipment like pipette tips.

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