diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index b52bd79d..99ee471e 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 Package: gDRutils
 Type: Package
 Title: A package with helper functions for processing drug response data
-Version: 1.5.2
-Date: 2024-11-05
+Version: 1.5.3
+Date: 2024-12-02
 Authors@R: c(person("Bartosz", "Czech", role=c("aut"),
                    comment = c(ORCID = "0000-0002-9908-3007")),
              person("Arkadiusz", "Gladki", role=c("cre", "aut"), email="gladki.arkadiusz@gmail.com",
diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 046e9c27..56fa2aa6 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ export(set_unique_cl_names_dt)
 export(set_unique_drug_names)
 export(set_unique_drug_names_dt)
 export(set_unique_identifiers)
+export(set_unique_names_dt)
 export(shorten_normalization_type_name)
 export(split_SE_components)
 export(standardize_mae)
diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index cd989f6d..d95b9ab7 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+## gDRutils 1.5.3 - 2024-12-02
+* refactor `set_unique_*` functions
+
 ## gDRutils 1.5.2 - 2024-11-05
 * add `get_env_var` helper
 
diff --git a/R/standardize_MAE.R b/R/standardize_MAE.R
index fd279ab9..3e3be2ad 100644
--- a/R/standardize_MAE.R
+++ b/R/standardize_MAE.R
@@ -278,6 +278,46 @@ refine_rowdata <- function(rd, se, default_v = "Undefined") {
   rd
 }
 
+#' Set unique primary identifiers in the data.frame-like objects
+#'
+#' This function sets the primary field in the data.frame-like objects to be unique 
+#' by appending the secondary field in parentheses for duplicates.
+#'
+#' @param dt data.table, data.frame or DFrame with data
+#' @param primary_name string with the name of the primary field
+#' @param secondary_name string with the name of the secondary field
+#' @param sep string with separator added before suffix
+#' @return fixed input table with unique primary field in the table
+#' @examples
+#' col_data <- S4Vectors::DataFrame(CellLineName = c("ID1", "ID1"), clid = c("C1", "C2"))
+#' col_data <- set_unique_names_dt(col_data, primary_name = "CellLineName", secondary_name = "clid")
+#' @keywords standardize_MAE
+#' @export
+#' 
+set_unique_names_dt <- function(dt, primary_name, secondary_name, sep = " ") {
+  
+  checkmate::assert(
+    checkmate::check_class(dt, "data.table"),
+    checkmate::check_class(dt, "DFrame"),
+    checkmate::check_class(dt, "data.frame")
+  )
+  
+  checkmate::assert_choice(primary_name, names(dt))
+  checkmate::assert_choice(secondary_name, names(dt))
+  
+  if (!is.null(dt[[primary_name]])) {
+    unique_sets <- if (inherits(dt, "data.table")) {
+      unique(dt[, c(primary_name, secondary_name), with = FALSE])
+    } else  {
+      unique(dt[, c(primary_name, secondary_name)])
+    }
+    dup_tbl <- table(unique_sets[[primary_name]])
+    duplicated_ids <- names(dup_tbl[dup_tbl >= 2])
+    dup_idx <- which(dt[[primary_name]] %in% duplicated_ids)
+    dt[[primary_name]][dup_idx] <- paste0(dt[[primary_name]][dup_idx], sep, "(", dt[[secondary_name]][dup_idx], ")")
+  }
+  dt
+}
 
 #' Set Unique Parental Identifiers
 #'
@@ -304,58 +344,35 @@ set_unique_cl_names <- function(se) {
   se
 }
 
-#' Set Unique Parental Identifiers in table
+#' Set unique primary cell line identifiers in the table
 #'
-#' This function sets the `CellLineName` field in 
-#' `colData` to be unique by appending the `clid` in parentheses for duplicates.
+#' This function sets the primary cell line field in data.frame-like object to be unique 
+#' by appending the secondary cell line field in parentheses for duplicates.
 #'
-#' @param col_data data.table or DFrame with col data
+#' @param dt data.table, data.frame or DFrame with the data
+#' @param primary_name string with the name of the primary cell line field
+#' @param secondary_name string with the name of the secondary cell line field
 #' @param sep string with separator added before suffix
-#' @return fixed input table with unique `CellLineName` in `colData`.
+#' @return fixed input table with unique primary cell line field in dt
 #' @examples
 #' col_data <- S4Vectors::DataFrame(CellLineName = c("ID1", "ID1"), clid = c("C1", "C2"))
 #' col_data <- set_unique_cl_names_dt(col_data)
 #' @export
 #' @keywords standardize_MAE
 #' 
-set_unique_cl_names_dt <- function(col_data, sep = " ") {
-  stopifnot(any(inherits(col_data, "data.table") || inherits(col_data, "DFrame")))
-  
-  cellline_name <- get_env_identifiers("cellline_name")
-  clid <- get_env_identifiers("cellline")
-  
-  if (!is.null(col_data[[cellline_name]])) {
-    unique_col_names <- c(unlist(get_default_identifiers()[
-      c("cellline_name", "drug_name", "drug_name2",
-        "concentration2", "duration", "data_source")
-    ]), "normalization_type")
-    unique_col_names <- intersect(unique_col_names, names(col_data))
-    unique_col_names_clid <- c(unique_col_names, get_default_identifiers()$cellline)
-    if (data.table::is.data.table(col_data)) {
-      duplicated_ids <- col_data[[cellline_name]][duplicated(col_data, by = unique_col_names)]
-      duplicated_ids_with_clid <- col_data[[cellline_name]][duplicated(col_data, by = unique_col_names_clid)]
-    } else {
-      duplicated_ids <- col_data[[cellline_name]][duplicated(col_data[unique_col_names])]
-      duplicated_ids_with_clid <- col_data[[cellline_name]][duplicated(col_data[unique_col_names_clid])]
-    }
-    duplicated_ids <- setdiff(duplicated_ids, duplicated_ids_with_clid)
-    
-    if (length(duplicated_ids) > 0) {
-     for (dup_id in unique(duplicated_ids)) {
-      dup_indices <- which(col_data[[cellline_name]] == dup_id)
-      col_data[[cellline_name]][dup_indices] <- 
-        paste0(
-          col_data[[cellline_name]][dup_indices],
-          sep,
-          "(", 
-          col_data[[clid]][dup_indices], 
-          ")"
-        )
-      } 
-    }
+set_unique_cl_names_dt <- function(dt,
+                                   primary_name = get_env_identifiers("cellline_name"),
+                                   secondary_name = get_env_identifiers("cellline"),
+                                   sep = " ") {
+  checkmate::assert_string(primary_name)
+  checkmate::assert_string(secondary_name)
+  if (primary_name %in% names(dt)) {
+    dt <- set_unique_names_dt(dt, primary_name, secondary_name, sep = sep)
+  } else {
+    futile.logger::flog.trace("set_unique_cl_names_dt: \t there are no cell line fields in the data",
+                              name = "trace.logger")
   }
-  
-  col_data
+  dt
 }
 
 #' Set Unique Drug Names
@@ -386,16 +403,18 @@ set_unique_drug_names <- function(se) {
   se
 }
 
-
-#' Set Unique Drug Names in table
+#' Set unique primary drug identifiers in the table
 #'
-#' This function sets the `DrugName`, `DrugName_2`, and `DrugName_3` fields in 
-#' `rowData` to be unique by appending the corresponding `Gnumber`, `Gnumber_2`, 
-#' and `Gnumber_3` in parentheses for duplicates.
+#' This function sets the primary drug field(s) in data.frame-like object to be unique 
+#' by appending the secondary drug field(s) in parentheses for duplicates.
+#' By default `DrugName`, `DrugName_2`, and `DrugName_3` are primary drug fields,  
+#' while `Gnumber`, `Gnumber_2`, and `Gnumber_3` are their respective secondary drug fields.
 #'
-#' @param row_data data.table or DFrame with row data
+#' @param dt data.table, data.frame or DFrame with the data
+#' @param primary_names charvec with the names of the primary drug field(s)
+#' @param secondary_names charvec with the name of the secondary drug field(s)
 #' @param sep string with separator added before suffix
-#' @return fixed input table with unique `DrugName` fields in `rowData`.
+#' @return fixed input table with unique primary drug field in dt
 #' @examples
 #' row_data <- S4Vectors::DataFrame(
 #'   DrugName = c("DrugA", "DrugA", "DrugB"),
@@ -406,43 +425,31 @@ set_unique_drug_names <- function(se) {
 #' row_data <- set_unique_drug_names_dt(row_data)
 #' @export
 #' @keywords standardize_MAE
-#' 
-set_unique_drug_names_dt <- function(row_data, sep = " ") {
-  stopifnot(any(inherits(row_data, "data.table") || inherits(row_data, "DFrame")))
+set_unique_drug_names_dt <- function(dt,
+                                     primary_names = unlist(get_env_identifiers()[(c("drug_name", "drug_name2", "drug_name3"))]), # nolint
+                                     secondary_names = unlist(get_env_identifiers()[(c("drug", "drug2", "drug3"))]),
+                                     sep = " ") {
   
-  drug_columns <- intersect(unlist(get_env_identifiers(c("drug_name", "drug_name2", "drug_name3"), simplify = FALSE)),
-                            names(row_data))
-  gnumber_columns <- intersect(unlist(get_env_identifiers(c("drug", "drug2", "drug3"), simplify = FALSE)),
-                               names(row_data))
+  checkmate::assert_character(primary_names) 
+  checkmate::assert_character(secondary_names) 
   
-  for (i in seq_along(drug_columns)) {
-    drug_col <- drug_columns[i]
-    gnumber_col <- gnumber_columns[i]
-    
-    if (!is.null(row_data[[drug_col]])) {
-      # Find duplicated drug names
-      duplicated_drugs <- row_data[[drug_col]][duplicated(row_data[[drug_col]])]
-      unique_drugs <- unique(duplicated_drugs)
-      
-      for (dup_drug in unique_drugs) {
-        dup_indices <- which(row_data[[drug_col]] == dup_drug)
-        if (length(unique(row_data[[gnumber_col]][dup_indices])) > 1) {
-          row_data[[drug_col]][dup_indices] <- 
-            paste0(
-              row_data[[drug_col]][dup_indices],
-              sep,
-              "(", 
-              row_data[[gnumber_col]][dup_indices], 
-              ")"
-            )
-        }
-      }
+  primary_names <- intersect(primary_names, names(dt))
+  secondary_names <- intersect(secondary_names, names(dt))
+ 
+  checkmate::assert_true(NROW(primary_names) == NROW(secondary_names))
+  
+  if (NROW(primary_names)) {
+    for (i in seq_along(primary_names)) {
+      dt <- set_unique_names_dt(dt, primary_names[i], secondary_names[i], sep = sep)
     }
+  } else {
+    futile.logger::flog.trace("set_unique_drug_names_dt: \t there are no drug fields in the data",
+                              name = "trace.logger")
   }
-  
-  row_data
+  dt
 }
 
+
 #' Set Unique Identifiers in MultiAssayExperiment
 #'
 #' This function sets the `CellLineName` in `colData` and `DrugName` fields in `rowData`
diff --git a/man/set_unique_cl_names_dt.Rd b/man/set_unique_cl_names_dt.Rd
index a3019775..244a6f41 100644
--- a/man/set_unique_cl_names_dt.Rd
+++ b/man/set_unique_cl_names_dt.Rd
@@ -2,21 +2,30 @@
 % Please edit documentation in R/standardize_MAE.R
 \name{set_unique_cl_names_dt}
 \alias{set_unique_cl_names_dt}
-\title{Set Unique Parental Identifiers in table}
+\title{Set unique primary cell line identifiers in the table}
 \usage{
-set_unique_cl_names_dt(col_data, sep = " ")
+set_unique_cl_names_dt(
+  dt,
+  primary_name = get_env_identifiers("cellline_name"),
+  secondary_name = get_env_identifiers("cellline"),
+  sep = " "
+)
 }
 \arguments{
-\item{col_data}{data.table or DFrame with col data}
+\item{dt}{data.table, data.frame or DFrame with the data}
+
+\item{primary_name}{string with the name of the primary cell line field}
+
+\item{secondary_name}{string with the name of the secondary cell line field}
 
 \item{sep}{string with separator added before suffix}
 }
 \value{
-fixed input table with unique \code{CellLineName} in \code{colData}.
+fixed input table with unique primary cell line field in dt
 }
 \description{
-This function sets the \code{CellLineName} field in
-\code{colData} to be unique by appending the \code{clid} in parentheses for duplicates.
+This function sets the primary cell line field in data.frame-like object to be unique
+by appending the secondary cell line field in parentheses for duplicates.
 }
 \examples{
 col_data <- S4Vectors::DataFrame(CellLineName = c("ID1", "ID1"), clid = c("C1", "C2"))
diff --git a/man/set_unique_drug_names_dt.Rd b/man/set_unique_drug_names_dt.Rd
index 3f39b2ef..cb3bde9d 100644
--- a/man/set_unique_drug_names_dt.Rd
+++ b/man/set_unique_drug_names_dt.Rd
@@ -2,22 +2,33 @@
 % Please edit documentation in R/standardize_MAE.R
 \name{set_unique_drug_names_dt}
 \alias{set_unique_drug_names_dt}
-\title{Set Unique Drug Names in table}
+\title{Set unique primary drug identifiers in the table}
 \usage{
-set_unique_drug_names_dt(row_data, sep = " ")
+set_unique_drug_names_dt(
+  dt,
+  primary_names = unlist(get_env_identifiers()[(c("drug_name", "drug_name2",
+    "drug_name3"))]),
+  secondary_names = unlist(get_env_identifiers()[(c("drug", "drug2", "drug3"))]),
+  sep = " "
+)
 }
 \arguments{
-\item{row_data}{data.table or DFrame with row data}
+\item{dt}{data.table, data.frame or DFrame with the data}
+
+\item{primary_names}{charvec with the names of the primary drug field(s)}
+
+\item{secondary_names}{charvec with the name of the secondary drug field(s)}
 
 \item{sep}{string with separator added before suffix}
 }
 \value{
-fixed input table with unique \code{DrugName} fields in \code{rowData}.
+fixed input table with unique primary drug field in dt
 }
 \description{
-This function sets the \code{DrugName}, \code{DrugName_2}, and \code{DrugName_3} fields in
-\code{rowData} to be unique by appending the corresponding \code{Gnumber}, \code{Gnumber_2},
-and \code{Gnumber_3} in parentheses for duplicates.
+This function sets the primary drug field(s) in data.frame-like object to be unique
+by appending the secondary drug field(s) in parentheses for duplicates.
+By default \code{DrugName}, \code{DrugName_2}, and \code{DrugName_3} are primary drug fields,
+while \code{Gnumber}, \code{Gnumber_2}, and \code{Gnumber_3} are their respective secondary drug fields.
 }
 \examples{
 row_data <- S4Vectors::DataFrame(
diff --git a/man/set_unique_names_dt.Rd b/man/set_unique_names_dt.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b50a0ec6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/set_unique_names_dt.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/standardize_MAE.R
+\name{set_unique_names_dt}
+\alias{set_unique_names_dt}
+\title{Set unique primary identifiers in the data.frame-like objects}
+\usage{
+set_unique_names_dt(dt, primary_name, secondary_name, sep = " ")
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{dt}{data.table, data.frame or DFrame with data}
+
+\item{primary_name}{string with the name of the primary field}
+
+\item{secondary_name}{string with the name of the secondary field}
+
+\item{sep}{string with separator added before suffix}
+}
+\value{
+fixed input table with unique primary field in the table
+}
+\description{
+This function sets the primary field in the data.frame-like objects to be unique
+by appending the secondary field in parentheses for duplicates.
+}
+\examples{
+col_data <- S4Vectors::DataFrame(CellLineName = c("ID1", "ID1"), clid = c("C1", "C2"))
+col_data <- set_unique_names_dt(col_data, primary_name = "CellLineName", secondary_name = "clid")
+}
+\keyword{standardize_MAE}
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-standardize_MAE.R b/tests/testthat/test-standardize_MAE.R
index 98035861..17ff52cc 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-standardize_MAE.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-standardize_MAE.R
@@ -94,6 +94,26 @@ test_that("get_optional_rowdata_fields works as expected", {
   expect_equal(opt_idfs2, idfs[["drug_moa"]])
 })
 
+test_that("set_unique_names works correctly", {
+  t_dframe <- S4Vectors::DataFrame(CellLineName = c("ID1", "ID1"),
+                                   clid = c("C1", "C2"))
+  t_dt <- data.table::data.table(CellLineName = c("ID1", "ID1"),
+                                 clid = c("C1", "C2"))
+  t_df <- data.frame(CellLineName = c("ID1", "ID1"),
+                     clid = c("C1", "C2"))
+  
+  u_dframe <- set_unique_names_dt(t_dframe,
+                                  primary_name = "CellLineName",
+                                  secondary_name = "clid")
+  u_dt <- set_unique_names_dt(t_dt, primary_name = "CellLineName", secondary_name = "clid")
+  u_df <- set_unique_names_dt(t_df, primary_name = "CellLineName", secondary_name = "clid")
+  
+  expect_equal(data.table::as.data.table(u_df), u_dt)
+  expect_equal(data.table::as.data.table(u_dframe), u_dt)
+  
+  expect_error(set_unique_names_dt(list()), "Must inherit from")
+})
+
 
 test_that("set_unique_cl_names_dt and set_unique_drug_names_dt works correctly", {
   
@@ -138,7 +158,7 @@ test_that("set_unique_cl_names_dt and set_unique_drug_names_dt works correctly",
   res_8 <- set_unique_cl_names_dt(dt)
   expect_equal(res_7, dt)
   expect_false(identical(res_8, dt))
-  expect_equal(length(unique(res_8$CellLineName)), 5)
+  expect_equal(length(unique(res_8$CellLineName)), 6)
 
   ## Duplicated DrugName
   dt <- data.table::data.table(