Detection methodologies for radiation hormesis and radioadaptive response

Formerly Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences, Brig. S. K. Mazumdar Marg, Delhi-110 054, India E-mail : saurin_upadhyay@yahoo.com Manuscript received 30 June 2011, accepted 29 December 2011 Both radiation hormesis (RH) and radio-adaptive response occur at a very low dose (10-4 Gy to 10-2 Gy). For detection of such a low dose there are physical, chemical, biochemical, biopolymeric, cellular and genetic radiation-induced radiobiological end points. The present article represents quite a large number of such techniques and methodologies such as thermo-luminescence (TLD), chemical dosimeters, biopolymeric dosimeters, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), autoradiography, flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, colony survival assay, electron spin resonance (ESR), chemiluminescence, oxidative DNA damage, markers for oxidative stress, micronucleus assay, DNA double strand break assay (DSB), commet assay, fluorescence life time analysis, oxidative stress by fluorimetric assay, gamma H2A X foci technique etc. The principle of each technique has been mentioned. The benefits of these techniques as applied to different health and disease aspects of the society have been discussed