Major benefits of the comet assay

The comet assay is...

Versatile

• Applicable to virtually any cell type from prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms
• Can be applied to cultured cells or cells isolated from the organism
• Can use on cells that are proliferating or non-proliferating

Practical

• Simple and inexpensive to perform
• Reliable
• Fast
• Sensitive
• Only a small number of cells are required (<10,000)

Powerful

• Generates data at the level of the single cell
• Not only does it detect DNA damage but can determine which specific form it takes
• Can be used to detect DNA repair and kinetics of repair
• Already acceptable for regulatory approval e.g. new drug applications

Widely applicable

• Genetic toxicology for screening and regulatory testing of industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, biocides, cosmetics.
• Human biomonitoring –occupational exposure to hazardous chemicals, pollutants, radiation
• Ecogenotoxicology – monitoring contamination of the environment by genotoxic agents
• Mechanistic studies of DNA damage & repair
• Nutrition – harmful and beneficial effects of diet and dietary components
• Clinical – diagnosis of disease and monitoring effects of treatment.
• Molecular epidemiology – assessing inter-individual differences in susceptibility to DNA damage and capacity to repair

About the comet assay | About Comet Assay IV cell scoring software