Exploring the disruptive effects of TBT on lipid homeostasis of Daphnia magna using chemometric methods

This study explores the effect of tributyltin (TBT) treatment on lipid homeostasis of D. magna using chemometric methods. The experimental design included two factors 'time' and 'dose' of TBT, and lipids were measured in replicate samples for each combination of factors. This study represents a case of multivariate multi-set data, obtained using a two factorial balanced design and explored using different multivariate chemometric techniques, to have an insight into data patterns, to separate main sources of variance and to identify lipid profiles associated with TBT dose. ANOVA- Simultaneous Component Analysis (ASCA) allowed the separation of the two sources of variation, suggesting thatthe TBT dose affected the evolution of the concentrations of lipids over time, although when the whole development process was considered, the interaction between time and dose factors was rather low. Multivariate Curve Resolution Alternating Least Squares (MCR-ALS) helped to resolve four distinct profiles associated with the different phases of D. magna development, showing changes in their lipids composition, and in their relation with TBT dose. A discussion of the meaning of these changes on lipid profiles and of their time evolution is performed.