In the course of severe pathological conditions, such as acute live failure and sepsis, toxic metabolites and mediators of inflammation are released into the patients circulation. One option for the supportive treatment of these conditions is plasmapheresis, in which plasma, after being separated from the cellular components of the blood, is cleansed by adsorption of harmful molecules on polymers or activated carbon. In this work, the adsorption characteristics of activated carbon beads with levels of activation ranging from the 0 to 86% were assessed for both hydrophobic compounds accumulating in liver failure (bilirubin, cholic acid, phenol and tryptophan) and cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-6). Progressive activation resulted in significant gradual reduction of both bulk density and mean particle size, in an increase in the specific surface area, and to changes in pore size distribution with progressive broadening of micropores. These structural changes went hand in hand with enhanced adsorption of small adsorbates, such as, IL-6 and cholic acid, and to a lesser extent. also of large molecules, such as TNF-alpha.