Ethyl L-lysine dihydrochloride was reacted with three different dianhydrides to yield the poly (ethyl L-lysinimide)s (PI(1-3)); it was also reacted with two different diacyl chlorides to yield the poly (ethyl L-lysinamide)s (PA(4-5)). The resulting polymers have inherent viscosities in the range of 0.15 to 0.42 dL g(-1). These polymers are prepared from an inexpensive starting material and are optically active, potentially ion exchangeable, semicrystalline, thermally stable, and soluble in polar aprotic solvents such as DMF, DMSO, NMP, DMAc, and sulfuric acid. All of the above polymers were fully characterized by FT-IR and (1)H NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, WAX diffraction, TGA, inherent viscosity measurement, and specific rotation.