Endocrine effects of plasticizers and the development of a breast cell based toxicity screening system Humans are frequently exposed to a variety of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) which can cause harmful effects e.g. disturbance of growth development and reproduction and cancer (UBA 2016). EDCs are often components of synthetically manufactured products. Materials made of plastics building materials electronic items textiles or cosmetic products can be particularly contaminated (Ain et al. 2021). One group of EDCs that has gained increased interest in recent years is phthalates. They are used as plasticizers in plastic materials to which people are daily exposed to. Phthalate plasticizers exert their harmful effects among others via activation of the estrogen receptor α (ERα) the estrogen receptor β (ERβ) and via inhibition of the androgen receptor (AR). Some phthalates have already been classified by the EU as Cancerogenic Mutagenic Reprotoxic (CMR) substances and their use in industry has been restricted. After oral ingestion phthalates are metabolized and are finally excreted with the urine. Numerous ...