Single stranded DNA breaks induced by Zinc sulfate in mice has been studied in vivo using Alkaline Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis (Comet assay). Mice were administered orally with doses of 5.70, 8.55, 11.40, 14.25, 17.10 and 19.95 mg/kg body weight of zinc sulfate respectively. The samples of whole blood were collected at 24, 48, 72, 96 hr and first week post-treatment and the assay was carried out to determine single strand DNA breaks as represented by comet tail-lengths. Results indicated a significant DNA damage at all the doses after treatment with zinc sulfate when compared to controls showing a clear dose-dependent response (p < 0.05). A gradual decrease in the tail-lengths from 48 hr post-treatment onwards was observed indicating a time dependent decrease in the DNA damage. The study confirms that zinc sulfate causes significant DNA damage at the doses used as revealed by comet assay.

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The alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) or "comet" assay under alkaline conditions was used to measure DNA damage in the leukocytes of Swiss Albino male mice exposed to cadmium chloride (CdCl(2)). The effect of CdCl(2) was studied after a single acute oral administration of a range of doses starting from 0.5 to 128.0 mg/kg b.wt of CdCl(2). The samples of whole blood were collected from each mouse at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h post-treatment to study single/double strand breaks in DNA. A significant increase in mean comet tail length indicating DNA damage was observed with CdCl(2) at 24 h post-treatment (P<0.05) with CdCl(2) when compared to controls. A gradual decrease in the mean tail length was observed at 48 h post-treatment indicating repair of the damaged DNA. The mean tail length showed a dose-related increase and time-dependent decrease after treatment with CdCl(2) when compared to controls. The study also confirms that the comet assay is a sensitive and rapid method to detect DNA damage caused by heavy metal like Cadmium (Cd).