, 2009 and Talsness et al., 2009). In PVC, phthalates can constitute up to 50% of the

plastic’s weight (Oehlmann et al., 2009). Meanwhile, Bisphenol A is a constituent monomer in polycarbonate which is widely used in food and beverage containers. Neither compound is persistent, but their instability within plastic products facilitates Selleck MDX-010 leaching and their high prevalence in aquatic environments has been widely reported, particularly in landfill leachates (vom Saal and Myers, 2008). Due to the large surface-area-to-volume ratio of microplastics, marine biota may be directly exposed to leached additives after microplastics are ingested. Such additives and monomers may interfere with biologically important processes, potentially resulting in endocrine disruption, which in turn I-BET-762 ic50 can impact upon mobility, reproduction and development, and carcinogenesis (Barnes et al., 2009, Lithner et al., 2009 and Lithner et al., 2011). Commonly used additives, including polybrominated diphenyl ethers, phthalates and the constituent monomer bisphenol A, are renowned for being endocrine-disrupting chemicals as they can mimic, compete with or disrupt the synthesis of endogenous hormones (Talsness et al., 2009). Hormonal imbalance can cause permanent morphological issues in organisms

in developmental stages, or sexual disruption in adults. Phthalates have been associated with a range of molecular and whole-organism effects in aquatic invertebrates and fish, including genotoxic damage (micronuclei and apoptosis in mussel haemocytes), inhibited locomotion in invertebrates and intersex conditions in fish (Oehlmann et al., 2009). Bisphenol A is both an oestrogen agonist and an androgen antagonist that can differentially affect reproduction and development depending on its concentration and the organism affected, at concentrations in the region of μg/l, Bisphenol A can be acutely toxic to both crustaceans and insects. Chronic and widespread exposure of human populations to Bisphenol A has further been associated with chronic health

effects, including heart disease, diabetes and alterations in circulating hormone levels (Galloway et al., 2010 and Lang et al., 2008). Although Ribonuclease T1 it has been shown that plasticisers can induce negative biological effects within the ng/l–μg/l range, Oehlmann et al. (2009) note there has been relatively little research into the chronic effects of these additives in long-term exposures to aquatic species. Marine plastic debris, in particular microplastics with their large surface area to volume ratio, are susceptible to contamination by a number of waterborne-pollutants, including aqueous metals (Betts, 2008 and Ashton et al., 2010), endocrine disrupting chemicals (Ng and Obbard, 2006) and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), also referred to as hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) (Rios et al., 2007).