A composite material produced from a poly(vinyl alcohol) cryogel with entrapped particles of the strong anion-exchange resin Amberlite is presented. The properties of the composite material depended strongly on whether the resin was used in OH- form or Cl- form. The ion-exchange filler in OH- form caused both a significant reinforcement of the composite material and an increase in the gel fusion temperature. These effects were thought to be associated with the additional ionic bonding between the continuous and disperse phases. Beads 200-600 mum in size were prepared from the composite material and used in expanded-bed ion-exchange chromatography for the capture of the negatively charged solutes benzoate and lactate from the suspension of negatively charged cells. The plausibility of the approach has been demonstrated on model systems composed of yeast cells and benzoate and with a real fermentation broth produced after lactic acid fermentation. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.