Automated Imaging and Analysis of a Novel Comet Assay to Enable High Throughput Genotoxicity Testing

Human contact to genotoxins is inevitable, as agents detrimental to our DNA are present in our environment, and also a result of our own cellular metabolism where they can contribute to cell death, gene mutations, and even cancer, disease and aging. At the same time, therapeutic approaches such as chemotherapy and radiation treatment rely on initiation of tumor cell genotoxicity to produce positive therapeutic outcomes. The comet assay is well established for quantifying DNA damage in mammalian cells and is compatible with detection of a wide array of DNA damaging agents. Comet assays are typically performed and analyzed manually, so although the assay provides increased sensitivity, adoption as a reliable method has been slow. This application note demonstrates a combined process to generate automated, high throughput comet-based genotoxicity data.