ENVIRONMENTAL METABOLOMICS OF FRESHWATER MICROALGAE AND ITS APPLICATION IN SENSOR DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

This thesis investigates the environmental impact of pesticides on freshwater microalgae using multi-platform metabolomics and discusses the development of a versatile analytical method for pesticide sensing in water. Their sensitivity to environmental stressors at sub parts per million (ppm) levels were observed from changes in relative metabolite abundance upon exposure. This supports their application in biomonitoring studies and in the development of comprehensive risk assessments. Given that ecological health is intrinsically tied to water quality, this information becomes additionally relevant with the development of a pesticide detection method that exhibits selectivity and sensitivity according to their limits of detection (LOD).