Over a period of more than two decades, the company’s founders have adapted the comet assay in many innovative ways – now fully exploited in a commercial environment.
Comet assay technological innovations
- Detection of different kinds of DNA damage using lesion-specific endonucleases
- Increasing throughput by inventing new formats with up to 96 gels per polyester film
- 12 gels per slide; a format that allows individual gel incubations
- Evaluation of underlying principles (e.g. electrophoresis and other conditions)
- Calibration and validation trials
- Internal reference standards
- Development of assays for DNA repair
- Detection of particular genes using fluorescent molecular probes
- Applying the comet assay in human biomonitoring
- Assessing DNA damage in cancer patients
Comet Assay General Principles
Precision medicine in oncology and other diseases: DNA damage as a diagnostic tool
Rapid development of personalised medicine requires tools for diagnostics, prediction, monitoring and assessment of therapeutic response. NorGenoTech creates a platform for diagnostics of individual levels of DNA damage, oxidation and repair capacity – fundamental health indicators relevant to cancer and other diseases. The platform is based on the comet assay and can be applied for assessing the response of patients to therapy, evaluating the predictive value of DNA repair as a cancer risk factor, testing effects of dietary and pharmaceutical intervention, identifying individuals at risk of exposure, as well as for genotoxicity testing of novel chemicals and drugs.
Developing equipment for monitoring the environment
Even in the best regulated countries there is serious concern about the accidental or uncontrolled release of chemicals into the environment, particularly because of agricultural, industrial and domestic activities. Contamination affects air, soil and water; usually the aquatic environment is the ultimate recipient. We are developing portable equipment suitable for environmental monitoring offshore and provide expertise in setting up ecotoxicological studies on different sentinel species. Together with the Norwegian Institute of Water Research (NIVA) we monitor the aquatic environment near oil platforms by carrying out the comet assay on fish cells. We have also established environmental monitoring station at the lake of Mjøsa (Skreia area, Oppland).
Partnership in research projects
With our background in academic research, we are keen to continue to act as SME-partners in research projects, funded by the EC or other research organisations. We have experience in running human nutritional intervention studies, including planning, obtaining ethical approval, collecting and processing samples, administering supplements, and analysing various biomarkers.
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