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Genotoxicity testing is designed to evaluate the damage and mutation potential of targeted chemical substances or environmental pollutants, such as drugs, pesticides, and food additives, on genetic material. Determining potential genotoxicity is an important component of the safety assessment of a compound. The standard battery of genotoxicity assays is relevant for substances that directly interfere with DNA or mitosis to induce gene mutation, chromosomal aberration, and DNA damage.

The Ames test utilizes bacteria to test whether a particular substance can cause mutations in the DNA sequence. In the presence of a mutagenic substance, a reversion mutation is occurred in the loss-of-function bacterial strain, allowing the strain to regain the ability to synthesize amino acids. In addition, the hypoxanthine phosphorybosyl transferase (HPRT) gene mutation assay and the thymidine kinase (TK) mouse lymphoma assay (MLA) are commonly used to detect a wide range of chemicals capable of causing mammalian gene mutation.

In the traditional chromosomal aberration test, the metaphase cells exposed to the tested sample are analyzed microscopically for the presence of chromatid aberrations and chromosomal aberrations in the cells. Another method to detect chromosomal aberrations is the in vitro micronucleus (MNvit) assay, which detects micronuclei in the cytoplasm that may originate from fragments of unattached chromosomes or entire chromosomes that are unable to migrate to the poles during the anaphase of cell division.

Single cell gel electrophoresis and γ-H2AX assays are commonly used methods for the detection of DNA damage. Single cell gel electrophoresis is uesd to evaluate single/double strand breaks and base damage by observing the DNA "comet tail" during electrophoresis. H2AX is a chromatin core histone that is phosphorylated to form γ-H2AX during DNA double-strand break events. By assessing the amount and intensity of γ-H2AX, the degree of DNA damage can be reflected.

Amerigo Scientific offers a wide range of genotoxicity assay kits to identify potentially genotoxic compounds to provide critical support in drug discovery, chemical safety assessment, and environmental monitoring.