This is an image of a mouse blastocyst exposed to 1µg of a Phthalate mixture. The green color represents E-cadherin expression, a maker for cell adhesion. The blue represents DAPI staining of the nuclei. Phthalates are used in plastic manufacturing to increase flexibility, durability and longevity of plastics. However, phthalates have been identified as endocrine disrupting chemicals that can interfere with normal hormone homeostasis. The aim of this study is to determine whether exposure to relevant phthalate mixture negatively impacts preimplantation embryo development through observation of changes in morphology, cell adhesion and particular proteins in mouse embryos at different stages of development. This project is being conducted by Kadeem A. Richardson, under the supervision of Dr. Romana Nowak of the Reproductive Health and Toxicology Laboratory in the Department of Animal Sciences.