Svrha mikronukleus-testa jest utvrđivanje kemikalija koje izazivaju citogenetska oštećenja zbog kojih dolazi do nastajanja mikronukleusa koji sadržavaju zaostale fragmente kromosoma ili čitave kromosome.
OECD (2000), ”Guidance Document on the Recognition, Assessment and Use of Clinical Signs as Humane Endpoints for Experimental Animals Used in Safety Evaluation”, OECD Environment, Health and Safety Publications (EHS), Series on Testing and Assessment, No19, OECD Publishing, Paris.