Andrew Collins

TL;DR: The comet assay (single-cell gel electrophoresis) is a simple method for measuring deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) strand breaks in eukaryotic cells that has applications in testing novel chemicals for genotoxicity, monitoring environmental contamination with genotoxins, human biomonitoring and molecular epidemiology, and fundamental research in DNA damage and repair.

TL;DR: This paper is intended to act as an update to the more general guidelines which were published as a result of the International Workshop on Genotoxicity Test Procedures, and is seen as a major step towards gaining more formal regulatory acceptance of the Comet assay.

TL;DR: Tetra-primer ARMS-PCR is reported, which employs two primer pairs to amplify, respectively, the two different alleles of a SNP in a single PCR reaction, and the results were completely consistent with those from an independent method, restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

TL;DR: The comet assay is a versatile and sensitive method for measuring single- and double-strand breaks in DNA, and by including lesion-specific enzymes in the assay, its range and sensitivity are greatly increased, but it is important to bear in mind that their specificity is not absolute.

TL;DR: The development of the SCGE assay, existing protocols for the detection and analysis of comets, the relevant underlying principles determining the behaviour of DNA, and the potential applications of the technique are reviewed.