Blood Cleansing Procedure Removes Microplastics And PFAS Along With Cholesterol

International endocrinologists found that apheresis—a procedure designed to remove excess cholesterol from the blood—simultaneously reduces concentrations of perfluorinated compounds (PFAS) and microplastic particles. The study indicates that these pollutants use lipoproteins as transport vehicles, though the small patient sample size means this cannot yet be considered a universal detoxification method. How Pollutants Are Removed Apheresis is a blood filtration method used for severe lipid metabolism disorders. The device separates specific components from the blood—primarily lipoproteins that carry fats and cholesterol—removes them, and returns the remaining blood to the patient. Researchers led by Stefan Bornstein from the Dresden University of Technology hypothesized that synthetic pollutants utilize these lipoproteins for transport. Because PFAS (known as "forever chemicals") and microplastics can bind with plasma proteins and fats, they become "packaged" within lipoproteins. Consequently, the apheresis filter captures these contaminants along with the target cholesterol molecules.