Lanthanum carbonate incorporated chitosan microparticles (LCCM) is proposed for collection of phosphate from 0.9% saline and human plasma serum samples. Loading of similar to 4.1 mg of La(2)(CO(3))(3)center dot 3H(2)O onto 0.1 g of chitosan has been achieved. The optimal glutaraldehyde (cross-linker), acetic acid concentration and lanthanum carbonate to chitosan weight ratio for preparation of LCCM were found to be 84.6-85.7%, 0.3-0.4 mol l(-1), and 1:1 respectively. Moreover, the percent collection of phosphate is higher with LCCM compared to lanthanum carbonate (LC) at all weights in a weight variation study. Under optimal conditions, the LCCM was found to be a better phosphate collector with a percent efficiency of >99% compared to 85% with lanthanum carbonate and less than 4% with glutaraldehyde cross-linked chitosan employing 0.1 g of respective materials. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.