ISSN : 0975-2862
EISSN : 0975-9158
Ravi Kant Singh1*, Santosh K. Mishra2, Narendra Kumar3, Ajay K.Singh4
1Department of Biotechnology, IMS Engineering College, Ghaziabad, UP
2Department of Biotechnology, IMS Engineering College, Ghaziabad, UP
3Department of Biotechnology, IMS Engineering College, Ghaziabad, UP
4Department of Molecular Biology & Genetic Engineering, AAIDU, Allahabad, UP
* Corresponding Author : rksingh.iitr@hotmail.com
Received : - Accepted : - Published : 15-06-2010
Volume : 2 Issue : 1 Pages : 18 - 22
Genetics 2.1 (2010):18-22
DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.9735/0975-2862.2.1.18-22
Keywords : Comet assay, DNA damage, Komet 3.1, Single cell gel electrophoresis, Genetic toxicology,
Environmental biomonitoring, Olive Tail Moment, % Tail-DNA, tail length
Conflict of Interest : None declared
The comet assay is a sensitive, reliable and rapid method for DNA double & single strand break, alkali-labile sites and delayed repair site detection in individual cells. In recent years, this method has been widely used for studies of DNA repair, genetic toxicology, environmental biomonitoring, and apoptosis. However, this technique serves as an important tool for detection of DNA damage in living organisms and is increasingly being used in genetic testing of industrial chemicals, agrochemicals & pharmaceuticals. This research paper helps to evaluate the health effects of exposure to organic pollutants by using comet assay technique by KOMET 3.1 software. This study used human biomonitoring to evaluate the genotoxic effects of exposure to organic pollutants. The experimental data suggest that the DNA damage parameters (OTM, % T-DNA and TL) were found higher value in exposed population when compared to the control healthy population. The percentage and distribution of cells in exposed population also increases with the increase in OTM values. This study demonstrates that, using sensitive techniques, it is possible to detect human health risks at an early stage when intervention is possible.