The bisphenols () are a group of industrial chemical compounds related to
diphenylmethane; commonly used in the creation of plastics and epoxy resins.
Most are based on two
hydroxyphenyl functional groups linked by a
methylene bridge
In chemistry, a methylene bridge is part of a molecule with formula . The carbon atom is connected by single bonds to two other distinct atoms in the rest of the molecule. A methylene bridge is often called a methylene group or simply methylene, ...
. Exceptions include bisphenol S, P, and M. "Bisphenol" is a
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...
; the letter following denotes the variant, which depends on the additional substituents.
Bisphenol A
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound primarily used in the manufacturing of various plastics. It is a colourless solid which is Solubility, soluble in most common organic solvents, but has very poor solubility in water. BPA is produced on a ...
is the most popular representative of the group, with millions of metric tons produced globally in the past decade, often simply called "bisphenol".
[.]
List
Health effects
Bisphenols A (BPA), F (BPF) and S (BPS) have been shown to be
endocrine disruptor
Endocrine disruptors, sometimes also referred to as hormonally active agents, endocrine disrupting chemicals, or endocrine disrupting compounds are chemicals that can interfere with endocrine (or hormonal) systems. These disruptions can cause ...
s, potentially relating to adverse health effects.
Due to its high production volumes, BPA has been characterised as a "pseudo-persistent" chemical, leading to its spreading and potential accumulation in a variety of environmental matrices, even though it has a fairly short
half-life Half-life is a mathematical and scientific description of exponential or gradual decay.
Half-life, half life or halflife may also refer to:
Film
* Half-Life (film), ''Half-Life'' (film), a 2008 independent film by Jennifer Phang
* ''Half Life: ...
.
[See Bisphenol A#Environmental effects for extensive discussion]
References
Further reading
* For additional examples and alternate names, see: {{cite book , title= Polymer Science Dictionary , vauthors = Alger M , publisher= Springer , year= 2017 , isbn= 978-94-024-0893-5 , page= 77
Endocrine disruptors