Ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, indium and platinum have been separated from a single spot in horizontal paper electrophoresis using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as background electrolyte. Electrograms were run using 0.01Melectrolyte, at pH 9.0, 10.5, 11.0 and 12.0. Binary, ternary, quaternary and quinary separations are possible at various pH values, but best separation occurs at pH 11.0. At this pH, ruthenium and osmium slightly overlap with each other and can be separated by cutting this zone and placing it on a fresh paper and carrying on the electrophoresis, now using 0.1MEDTA at pH 6.0. Ruthenium and osmium can thus be separated from each other on the second paper. The temperature is kept at 20°C, a potential 250 V is supplied, and the developing time is 3.5 hr.