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Updated: Apr 21, 2026

CometChip: A High-throughput 96-Well Platform for Measuring DNA Damage in Microarrayed Human Cells

CometChip: A High-throughput 96-Well Platform for Measuring DNA Damage in Microarrayed Human Cells

Published on: October 18, 2014

Controlling variation in the comet assay.

Andrew R Collins¹, Naouale El Yamani¹, Yolanda Lorenzo¹

¹Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo Oslo, Norway.

Frontiers in Genetics

|November 5, 2014

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

High variability in comet assay results is a challenge. Using reference standards, like cells with known DNA damage, helps control inconsistencies in experiments and between labs.

Keywords:

biomonitoring comet assay inter-laboratory comparisons reference standards variability

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Area of Science:

Genotoxicity testing
Biomonitoring

Background:

The comet assay is widely used for DNA damage assessment but suffers from significant experimental variability.
This variability occurs both within and between laboratories, impacting data reliability.

Purpose of the Study:

To address the issue of comet assay variability.
To introduce and demonstrate the utility of reference standards for controlling assay consistency.

Main Methods:

Standardization of critical comet assay steps including agarose concentration, alkaline incubation, and electrophoresis conditions.
Inclusion of reference standards: untreated cells (negative controls) and cells with induced DNA damage (positive controls).
Application of reference standards in human biomonitoring trials for inter- and intra-laboratory comparisons.

Main Results:

Reference standards help identify anomalous results and ensure assay consistency over time.
Tail intensity values from reference standards can mitigate day-to-day variations.
Demonstrated successful use of reference standards in controlling variation across multiple human trials.

Conclusions:

Reference standards are crucial for improving the reliability and reproducibility of the comet assay.
Implementing reference standards enables more accurate DNA damage assessment in biomonitoring studies.
Procedures for using reference standards can effectively control comet assay variation.