[Detection of DNA-protein crosslinks with modified comet assay]

Modifications of the comet assay were introduced to measure crosslinks and the effect of formaldehyde in liver cells of the tested animals was investigated by the new method to see whether the method is feasible. Since exposure of slides to proteinase K can increase DNA migration of the treated cells, the presence of DNA-protein crosslinks can be indicated by compare of the tail moment before and after the proteinase K added. The results showed that the modified protocol of the alkaline comet assay is a fast, inexpensive and sensitive tool for the detection of potent crosslinkers-induced DNA-protein crosslinks at single cell level. Due to its specific advantages, the modified comet assay seems to be a useful tool as a DNA crosslink potency indicator.