The single cell microgel electrophoresis assay (comet assay): technical aspects and applications

Monitoring of buccal epithelial cells by alkaline comet assay (single cell gel electrophoresis technique) in cytogenetic evaluation of chlorhexidine

“…A considerable intraindividual variation due to possible reflection of the sensitivity of lymphocytes to physiological status has been reported [22]. Buccal epithelial cells could be considered short-lived cells due to their continued renewal and peripheral blood lymphocytes, which in comparison could be considered longer-lived cells.…”

“…Single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) is a technique that has been extensively used in fundamental DNA repair studies, biomonitoring of the population, and DNA damage evaluations [16,17,22,23]. This technique involves embedding cells in agarose gel on microscope slides and lysing with detergent and high salt.…”

Diversity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells as revealed by a novel multiple microgel ?comet assay?

“…Because this method requires viable but not dividing cells, it is applicable to any cell line or tissue from which a healthy single-cell suspension can be obtained [Ross et al, 1995]. The alkaline version of the assay can be used to detect DNA ssbs and alkali-labile lesions at the low limit of 1 break/2 ϫ 10 10 Da of DNA, which is significantly more sensitive than other techniques such as alkaline elution [Singh et al, 1995].…”

Identification of Low-dose Irradiated Seeds using the Neutral Comet Assay

“…100 Gy to inhibit sprouting of potatoes, onions or garlic) it may be necessary to use an image analyser for the evaluation, due to the normal variation of the patterns in the unirradiated samples. In that case it could also be possible to unwind the DNA before electrophoresis (alkaline comet assay), which makes the analysis more sensitive (18)(19)(20). This means, however, that the analysis will also become more sensitive towards other DNA damaging factors (bad storage conditions, pesticide treatments), and may be less useful for irradiation detection.…”