TU Dresden Study Links Apheresis to Blood PFAS Reduction

Researchers at Technische Universität Dresden have shown that therapeutic apheresis, a blood-filtration procedure developed to lower lipoproteins in severe lipid disorders, may also reduce circulating levels of PFAS and plastic-associated signals in blood. Published in Brain Medicine on 20 August 2026, the preliminary patient study used a combination of LC-MS/MS, Raman spectroscopy and pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to link apheresis to reductions in multiple PFAS compounds and detectable polymers.

The study was based on the hypothesis that PFAS and micro/nanoplastics associate with lipoproteins, proteins or larger ‘corona’ complexes, making them potentially accessible to filtration during blood cleansing. In 34 patients undergoing double filtration plasmapheresis, the team confirmed significant reductions in C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, LDL cholesterol and lipoprotein(a) alongside lower cholesterol- and lipid-associated spectral bands via Raman spectroscopy. LC-MS/MS analysis by two independent laboratories then showed reductions in circulating PFAS compounds: one laboratory reported up to 25% decreases in PFOA, PFOS, PFNA and PFHxS across 14 patients, while a smaller four-patient analysis reported larger decreases across several PFAS.

Pyrolysis GC-MS on four patients showed polyethylene decreasing in all four and polyvinyl chloride decreasing in three. In two additional patients treated with DFPP plus a selective nucleic acid adsorption device, several detectable polymers were no longer detectable post-treatment. Stefan Bornstein, first and corresponding author, framed the finding cautiously, noting the machine caught the compounds but this does not yet mean the body is rid of them. The team stressed that findings remain preliminary, with small sample sizes and varying patient indications limiting conclusions.

The commercial signal is a nascent intersection between therapeutic apheresis and environmental toxin removal, opening potential adjacencies for both the apheresis and analytical instrumentation categories. If validated, the finding could reshape the PFAS bioremediation market. Expect Fresenius Medical Care, B. Braun, Kaneka and Asahi Kasei on the apheresis side, and Agilent, Waters, Thermo Fisher, SCIEX and Shimadzu on the analytical side, to sharpen positioning.

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