How to calculate p-values for fold changes? I'm currently working with data from a Luminex multiplex assay. In this assay, the concentrations of 17 different analyte proteins were identified in 12 groups in triplicate. One of these 17 groups was used as the control, and the log2 fold changes were calculated for the analyte concentration of each sample in each group using the average control concentration for that analyte.

However, now I would like to calculate a p-value for the identified fold changes if possible.

My current preliminary idea is to perform the t test for each group compared with the control group for each analyte, but I don't think that my group sizes are large enough for this. My statistical knowledge is lacking, so if there is a better way of calculating these p-values I don't know about it.

Is there a better way of obtaining these p-values?
Your null hypothesis would be that the fold-changes are 0, so you can either do the T-test accordingly or simply do away with the fold changes and perform the T-test between the raw values in the group (this is preferable to performing a T-test of one group vs. 0, since it allows you to assess the expected variability around 0). Note, however, that 3 samples is pretty much the bare minimum needed for any statistics, so your power will be terrible and your estimation of variance will likely be pretty inaccurate. Consequently, take any p-values with an appropriate grain of salt.

To my knowledge there aren't any good alternatives for your situation without having a good expected background distribution.