Single cell gel electrophoresis assay: methodology and applications

The single cell gel electrophoresis or Comet assay is a sensitive, reliable , and rapid method for DNA double- and single-strand breaks, alkali-labile sites and delayed repair site detection, in eukariotic individual cells. Gi ven its overall characteristics, this method has been widely used over the past few years in several different areas. In this paper we review the stud ies published to date about the principles, the basic methodology with curr ently used variations. We also explore the applications of this assay in: g enotoxicology, clinical area, DNA repair studies, environmental biomonitori ng and human monitoring. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved .