Table 1 Key high-throughput technologies to assist the study of genetic toxicology

SOS Chromotest

Bacterial colorimetric assay indicating DNA damage or genotoxicity and easily adapted for HTS

Simplicity, high sensitivity, faster results compared to Ames test

Limited applicability to certain types of genotoxic agents

[26]

Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)

Genome-wide mutation analysis, DNA damage detection

High sensitivity, comprehensive coverage

Difficulty detecting low-abundant somatic mutations, high cost, complex data analysis

[27,28,29]

Microarrays

Gene expression profiling, DNA damage response pathways

High throughput, multiplexed analysis

Limited to pre-defined gene sets

[30, 31]

Quantitative HTS

Screening compounds for genotoxicity and concentration-response profiling

Rapid testing of thousands of compounds, reduced false negatives, and cost-effectiveness

Requires robust informatics for data analysis; variability in potency estimates across profiles

[32]

Omics Technologies (Genomics, Transcriptomics, Proteomics)

Comprehensive study of genetic material and cellular responses

Enables holistic understanding of toxicity mechanisms; rapid genome sequencing

Complexity in data interpretation; requires integration across multiple datasets

[3]

Flow Cytometry

Cell cycle analysis, DNA damage detection

Rapid, quantitative analysis

Requires specific staining and instrumentation

[33,34,35]

Mass Spectrometry

Protein analysis, metabolite profiling, SNP genotyping, epigenotype analysis, and allele quantification

High sensitivity, specificity

Complex sample preparation, specialized instrumentation

[36, 37]

Imaging

Cellular morphology, DNA damage visualization

Visual confirmation, high-content analysis

Requires image analysis software, potential for subjective interpretation

(38,39,40)

High-throughput computational models

Predictive modeling, data integration

Rapid analysis, identification of potential hazards

Model accuracy depends on data quality and model complexity

[41, 42]