Fig. 7 | Scientific Reports

Fig. 7

From: PEGylated liposomal metformin overcomes pharmacokinetic barriers to trigger potent mitochondrial disruption and cell cycle arrest in hepatocellular carcinoma

Fig. 7

Comet assay analysis of DNA damage in normal Vero and liver carcinoma HEPG-2 cells following treatment with Free Metformin, Empty Liposomes, Liposomal Metformin, and Pegylated Liposomal Metformin. (A) Representative fluorescence microscopy images of Vero cells, showing comet tails indicative of DNA damage. (B) Bar graph of quantitative comet assay parameters for Vero cells, including percentage of tailed cells, tail length (pixels), % DNA in tail, and tail moment. (C) Representative fluorescence microscopy images of HEPG-2 cells, highlighting DNA fragmentation via comet tails. (D) Bar graph of quantitative comet assay parameters for HEPG-2 cells, detailing the same metrics. Data are expressed as mean ± standard error from three independent experiments. Statistical significance was assessed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post-hoc test (**p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 vs. control). Both liposomal formulations exhibited the highest percentage of tailed cells across both cell lines, with differential effects on DNA damage intensity parameters between normal and cancer cells.

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