The comet assay: topical issues.

@article{Collins2008TheCA,
  title={The comet assay: topical issues.},
  author={Andrew R. Collins and Amaia Azqueta Oscoz and Gunnar Brunborg and Isabel Gaiv{\~a}o and Lisa Giovannelli and Marcin K Kruszewski and Catherine C. Smith and Rudolf {\vS}tětina},
  journal={Mutagenesis},
  year={2008},
  volume={23 3},
  pages={
          143-51
        }
}
The comet assay is a versatile and sensitive method for measuring single- and double-strand breaks in DNA. The mechanism of formation of comets (under neutral or alkaline conditions) is best understood by analogy with nucleoids, in which relaxation of DNA supercoiling in a structural loop of DNA by a single DNA break releases that loop to extend into a halo-or, in the case of the comet assay, to be pulled towards the anode under the electrophoretic field. A consideration of the simple physics… 
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References

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TLDR
The reliability and reproducibility of the comet assay is reported, from the level of comparing results from duplicate gels prepared from the same sample of cells, up to an assessment of the natural intra‐ and interindividual variability in lymphocyte DNA damage measured in groups of normal, healthy human volunteers.
Comet assay-based methods for measuring DNA repair in vitro; estimates of inter- and intra-individual variation
TLDR
A simple comet-based in vitro assay for nucleotide excision repair (NER) similar to that already in use for base excision Repair (BER) is developed and applied to lymphocyte samples collected on several occasions from healthy subjects, to gain an impression of the degree of intra- and inter-individual variability.
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TLDR
A modification of the alkaline comet assay was developed to determine the ability of human lymphocyte extracts to perform the initial steps of the nucleotide excision repair (NER) process, i.e. damage recognition and incision.
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We used X-rays from a linear accelerator and from a low energy therapeutic source to calibrate the single cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay), a widely used method to measure DNA damage. γ-Rays…
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TLDR
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TLDR
The dose-response curves indicate that the comet assay and HPLC are equally efficient at detecting induced damage, and it is reasonable to assess oxidative stress by any of these methods.
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TLDR
In developing a method for studying specific gene sequences within comets, using 'padlock probes' (circularizable oligonucleotide probes), probes that hybridize to Alu repetitive elements and to mitochondrial DNA are applied.
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TLDR
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TLDR
The comet assay (single cell gel electrophoresis) is a rapid, very sensitive method for the detection of DNA strand breaks at the level of single cells, which is now being applied in genotojricity testing and for testing novel chemicals for genotoxicity.
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