The Comet Assay: A straight Way to Estimate Geno-Toxicity

Comet assay or single cell gel electrophoresis is a simple yet quite effective technique used in quantitative assessment of DNA damage and repair. This assay is widely used to evaluate the in vitro single and double strand DNA damage/breaks. Comet assay covers the broad area of mutagenesis which includes Geno-toxicity, environmental toxicology/risk assessment, human biomonitoring along with clinical studies. Now a days comet assay is frequently used to study the effect of ionizing radiation (cancer cells), nanotoxicology along with estimating the sensitivity for various drugs on plant and animal cells. This assay allows us to investigate deep down in the area of molecular sciences. This assay is highly considered due to its efficiency, cost effectiveness, high reproducibility. Here we are reviewing comet assay, describing about its principle, materials/methodology, types and applications.