INTRODUCTION Bisphenol A (BPA, 2, 2-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propa- ne; CAS# 80-05-07) is extensively used in the produc- tion of polycarbonate plastics and the majority of e- poxy resins, as well as an additive to other plastics and as a component of fire retardants (Markham et al., 1998; Staples et al., 1998). The annual production of BPA in USA reached a volume of 2.4 billion pounds in 2007 (Environmental Protection Agency, USA; http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/pubs/actionplans/bp a.html). Safety of BPA has been a controversial issue, since it has been found to be an endocrine disruptor due to its ability to interfere with endocrine activity and is considered to be a reproductive, developmen- tal and systemic toxicant in humans, experimental an- imals and wildlife (Mountfort et al., 1997; Yamamoto & Yasuhara, 1999; Hirano et al., 2004; Mihaich et al., 2009). To date there are reports describing the detection of BPA in soil, while it is found widely dispersed in the atmosphere (Fent et al., 2003; Fu & Kawamura, 2010). Furthermore, considerable amount of BPA to- xicity testing has been focused on aquatic organisms, since the discharge from production, processing and sewage treatment plants effluxes in aquatic environ- ments (Cousins et al., 2002). The majority of testing Journal of Biological Research-Thessaloniki 19: 38 – 45, 2013 J. Biol. Res.-Thessalon. is available online at http://www.jbr.gr Indexed in: WoS (Web of Science, ISI Thomson), SCOPUS, CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service) and DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) 38 Toxicity effects of bisphenol A to the nauplii of the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana Jeanne CASTRITSI-CATHARIOS 1 , Vassiliki SYRIOU 2 , Helen MILIOU 3 and George D. ZOUGANELIS 4* 1 University of Thessaly, School of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Agriculture, Ichthyology and Aquatic Environment, Fytoko, 38446 Volos, Greece 2 Department of Pathophysiology, Division of Endocrinology, Laiko University Hospital, 75 Mikras Asias, 11527 Athens, Greece 3 Department of Applied Hydrobiology, Faculty of Animal Science and Aquaculture, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece 4 University of Portsmouth, School of Biological Sciences, King Henry I str., King Henry Building, Portsmouth PO1 2DY, United Kingdom Received: 23 May 2012 Accepted after revision: 11 July 2012 Toxicity responses of Artemia franciscana to the endocrine disrupter bisphenol A (BPA) were in- vestigated. Exposure of Artemia nauplii (instar II-III) to BPA for 24 hrs and 48 hrs demonstrated LC 50 values of 44.8 mg l -1 and 34.7 mg l -1 , respectively. The length of nauplii was measured and compared with that of untreated animals. BPA exposed nauplii were significantly shorter than untreated individuals (24 hrs: 0.97 mm, 48 hrs: 1 mm) at a concentration range between 20 and 50 mg l -1 (24 hrs: 0.9-0.7 mm, 48 hrs: 0.92-0.71 mm). Furthermore, the length of nauplii decreased as the dose of BPA increased for both 24 hrs and 48 hrs exposure periods. The results indicate that A. franciscana does not consist a highly sensitive test animal for the acute toxicity bioassays with BPA in comparison to other aquatic organisms. However, it becomes obvious that an in- hibitory effect on growth of Artemia nauplii can be estimated within a short exposure period (24 hrs), even at doses lower than the median lethal concentration. The latter finding points out that A. franciscana may be an ideal model organism for further research on the physiological process- es related to the inhibitory effect of BPA on the growth of crustaceans. Key words: Bisphenol A, Artemia nauplii, lethal concentration, length, inhibitory effect. * Corresponding author: tel.: +44 (0) 2392842026, fax: +44 (0) 2392842070, e-mail: zouganelisg@bpc.ac.uk