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The phosphorylated form, \u03b3H2AX, accumulates at the site of damage and can be detected as foci by immunocytochemistry. Therefore, \u03b3H2AX is a sensitive and robust biomarker of DNA damage, notably DSB. Cells from peripheral blood are often used for studies on genotoxic exposure of humans. They are limited, however, by the amount of blood required and the costly blood purification method. Here, we present a method that enables the detection of DNA damage by the analysis of \u03b3H2AX foci in a drop of blood. The blood drop method (BDM) is simple, fast, inexpensive and allows large series of blood sampling and storage over time. It can be combined with genotoxic treatment of cells in the collected blood sample for experimental purposes on DNA damage induction and repair. The BDM is suitable for rapid and large-scale screenings of genetic damage in human and animal populations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1038\/srep22682","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2016,3,4]],"date-time":"2016-03-04T10:16:42Z","timestamp":1457086602000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":34,"title":["The \u03b3H2AX DNA damage assay from a drop of blood"],"prefix":"10.1038","volume":"6","author":[{"given":"Daniel","family":"Heylmann","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bernd","family":"Kaina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,3,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"BFsrep22682_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mrgentox.2013.05.014","volume":"756","author":"M Durante","year":"2013","unstructured":"Durante, M. et al. 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