Damage induced by stannous chloride in plasmid DNA

Stannous chloride (SnCl2) is widely used in daily human life, for example, to conserve soft drinks, in food manufacturing and biocidal preparations. I n nuclear medicine, stannous chloride is used as a reducing agent of Techne tium-99m, a radionuclide used to label different cells and molecules. In sp ite of this, stannous chloride is able to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) which can damage DNA. In this work, plasmid DNA (pUC 9.1) was incubat ed with SnCl2 under different conditions and the results analyzed through D NA migration in agarose gel electrophoresis. Our data reinforce the powerfu l damaging effect induced by stannous ion and suggest that this salt can pl ay a direct role in inducing DNA lesions. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.