A miniaturised version of a TK6 in vitro micronucleus test in which 2 treatment conditions (+/- rat S9, short and long exposure) are utilised in a 96-well microplate format across a range of test item concentrations. Micronucleus formation is assessed in 2000 mononuclear cells per condition by a MetaSystems Metafer automated image analysis platform. Validated against outcomes from manual scoring, this test provides a faster turnaround to allow rapid project decision-making with minimal compound requirements.
Validation data
The Metafer classifier has been validated by testing a range of nine known aneugens, clastogens, and three non-genotoxic cytotoxic compounds. Significant dose-related increases in micronuclei were observed for the aneugens and clastogens tested compared to vehicle control (VC). The system was able to detect direct and metabolically activated genotoxins. No significant or dose-related increases in micronuclei were observed for the non-genotoxic compounds.