As the world moves into the 21st century, the manufacture and use of plastic products will continually increase. From cars to computers to bottles to medical devices, products that were once made from heavier, more expensive materials are now being made from cheaper, lighter, and more durable plastic alternatives. As the use of plastics increases, so will the production of the chemicals used to make these materials.
Plasticizers are organic compounds which give flexibility and malleability to plastic.
Among the most commonly used plasticizers are a group of compounds called phthalate esters. Phthalate esters are extensively used in the manufacture of plastics to increase the elasticity and workability of high molecular weight polymers. Most phthalates are oily liquids and generally only represent a minor fraction of the total weight of the final plastic product. Large-scale usage and production of phthalate esters, combined with the fact that these chemicals are not chemically bound to the polymeric matrix and can migrate from plastics, has given rise to interest in the environmental fate and possible toxicological effects of these compounds. The brine shrimp Artemia salina has often been used as a model to study the effects of xenobiotics on early embryonic development.