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Toxicology tests (UVC, UVB, UVA, simulated sunlight)

Published on 2 November 2022
Two biochemical assays are widely used at CIBEST for the evaluation of toxicity:

      The Comet assay is a technique that estimates the extent of breakage in DNA. Cells are embedded in a gel on a microscope slide. After lysis of the membranes, the sample are submitted to an electrophoresis. DNA is labeled with a fluorescent dye. Under the florescent microscope, undamaged nuclei are round-shaped. In contrast, DNA of damaged cells is driven out of the nuclei upon electrophoresis, which leads to a comet-like image. 


      The high content screening platform Cell Insight (ThermoFisher Scientific) makes possible the quantification of cellular responses in multi-well plates. Our team uses it mostly for monitoring the induction of DNA repair events at double-strand break sites (53PB1, γ-H2AX). The device is also used for the micronuclei assay (genomic damage).