Costa, SolangeTeixeira, João Paulo2015-01-302015-01-302014In: Wexler P. (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Toxicology. 3rd edition. vol 4. Elsevier Inc., Academic Press, pp. 1020-23. ISBN: 97801238645439780123864543http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/2727Comet Assay is a simple and sensitive approach to assess genotoxic damage in different cell types, using only a small number of cells. Over the last decades it has gained wide acceptance as an important tool in fundamental DNA damage and repair studies with applications ranging from molecular epidemiology to genetic toxicology. In short, after alkaline DNA unwinding, subsequent electrophoresis causes the relaxed and broken fragments of DNA to move toward the anode away from the nucleoid core, appearing like a ‘comet.’ The distribution of DNA within the comet relates to the extent of DNA damage present in the cells.engBiological MonitoringBiomarkersComet AssayDNA DamageDNA RepairEnvironmental ExposureGenotoxicityHuman StudiesOccupational ExposureOxidative DamageRisk AssessmentValidation StudiesAr e Saúde OcupacionalGenotoxidade Ambientalbook part10.1016/B978-0-12-386454-3.01072-1