Plasticizers from plastic devices extraction, metabolism, and accumulation by biological systems.

Phthalate ester plasticizers were found to be extracted by blood from plastic tubing and from plastic bags used for blood storage. One such plasticizer was metabolized by the isolated perfused rat liver while another was found to be accumulated in the liver unchanged. In addition, this latter plasticizer was identified in samples of human tissue taken from patients who had received transfusions of blood stored in plastic bags. The biological implications of these observations are considered.