The synthesis and characterization of the novel water-soluble polycondensate from beta-cyclodextrin triazine and D-lactose are described, which represents the first copolymer containing cyclodextrin and lactose in the main-chain. In addition, the metal complex forming properties of the novel polymer for different metal ions such as Cr(III), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Sr(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), and AI(III) were studied using the liquid-phase polymer-based retention (LPR) method and compared with those of beta-cyclodextrin. According to the retention profiles obtained by the LPR method, all 10 metal ions investigated showed a strong interaction with this polymer. Finally, this polycondensate was shown to be microbiologically degradable with exponential microbial growth of 45 CFU (10(8) mL(-1)) by using conventional microbiological methods. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.