The Thermo Scientific Cellomics Comet v3.0 BioApplication technique enables

rapid, automated assessment of DNA damage

Pittsburgh, PA., (March 6, 2009) – Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world

leader in serving science, will unveil the Thermo Scientific Cellomics Comet

v3.0 BioApplication on booth #1663 at the SOT 48th Annual Meeting and

ToxExpo, Baltimore, Maryland from March 15-19 2009. This unique new

application uses a cell-based imaging approach for addressing the bottleneck

of rapid and accurate DNA damage assessment based on the Comet assay. This

assay, also known as Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis (SCGE) is a commonly

used assay to ascertain DNA damage induced in cells by acute exposure to

chemicals or radiation.

The Comet BioApplication runs on the industry-leading Thermo Scientific

Cellomics ArrayScan VTI system (comprising instrumentation, informatics and

reagent products) and provides automatic acquisition and quantification of

Comet assays. Researchers are now able to rapidly test multiple compounds

for the potential effects of DNA damage offering a more productive method

for screening compounds earlier in the drug-discovery process. In addition

the Comet BioApplication provides a more reproducible method for compound

screening at substantially lower labor costs compared with traditional

manual approaches to Comet quantification.

The Comet BioApplication for use on the Thermo Scientific Arrayscan VTI HCS

Reader is a completely automated tool for acquiring and analyzing Comet

assays to assess DNA damage in studies related to genotoxicity, ecotoxicity,

and biomonitoring. With the launch of the new Cellomics Comet v3.0

BioApplication, more tests may be performed with an industry standard assay

configuration. This automated, quantitative high content approach enables

screening for indicators of genetic toxicity earlier in the development of

therapeutic candidates and is designed to improve attrition rates,

increasing efficiency and significantly reducing costs for pharmaceutical

companies.

The Comet BioApplication, along with a selection of Thermo Scientific High

Content products, can be seen at the Thermo Scientific product booth # 1663

Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting and ToxExpo, Baltimore, Maryland,

March 15-19 2009.