Combining a Novel Comet Assay Procedure with Automated Imaging and Analysis 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. Efficiently and precisely repairing damaged DNA depends on the cellular DNA repair capacity. Therefore, quantifying DNA damage and accurately measuring the rate and extent of repair is critical in epidemiology, toxicology, drug development and other applications. This scientific poster presents the combination of a novel single-cell microarray comet assay format and automated instrumentation and analysis, providing an accurate, robust method to assess DNA damage and DNA repair in mammalian cells.