Polyaspartate is an excellent Pb2+-binding agent in comparison with some polyaspartamide derivatives with different side chains, in that it possesses a higher Pb2+ uptake and a lower Pb2+ equilibrium concentration. Equilibrium sorption data for Pb2+ on polyaspartate can be well fitted with the Freundlich and Langmuir models. Experimental results show that a crosslinked polyaspartate hydrogel is superior to poly(acrylic acid)-based resins and polystyrene-based chelating resins. IR spectra and X-ray photo-electron spectra reveal that the polyaspartate hydrogel binds Pb2+ by both an ion-exchange mechanism and a chelating mechanism. The polyaspartate hydrogel is also an effective agent for the removal of Pb2+ from glycyrrhizin. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.