Modification of comet assay and its application in industrial wastewater monitoring.

In order to explore the application of comet assay in monitoring industrial wastewater, the conventional way of cell exposure was modified as soak contamination to enhance the laboratorial sensitivity and to make the test possible for use to monitor the genotoxicity of industrial wastewater. The modified comet assay was used to detect directly the V79 cell DNA damage induced by several kinds of industrial wastewater. The results showed that all industrial wastewater tested contained some DNA damage agents and could induce DNA strand breakage of V79 cells cultured in bottles. Among these wastewater that from tannery had the strongest action of DNA damage. The results also revealed that the modified was taken comet assay has a broad prospect for evaluating the genotoxicity of industrial wastewater comprehensively.