THE COMET ASSAY FOR DETECTION OF POTENTIAL GENOTOXICITY OF POLLUTED WATER

The aim of this study was to determine the potential genotoxic activit y of polluted water samples taken from wastewater from selected indust rial plants in Krakow: 1. the Thermal-electric Power Station 2. the In stitute of Metal Cutting. The recently developed single cell gel assay (SCG or comet assay), which is a quick and simple technique for the e valuation of DNA damage and repair in individual cells, was used. The assay was carried out on human hepatoma cells (Hep G2) as target cells . A greater number of cells with comets was observed in those treated in vitro with the polluted water samples (70%-88%) than in those in th e control (22%, 33%). These preliminary results indicate that comet as say can have an application in biomonitoring studies for determining t he potential genotoxicity of water pollutants.