AbstractThe feasibility of employing capillary zone electrophoresis to separate nanostructured gold particles was investigated. The optimal experimental conditions of rinsing procedure, type and concentration of cationic surfactant, buffer concentration, and pH value were identified for the separations. Under the optimal conditions — included rinsing capillary with 0.5 N NaOH, water, and buffer for 3 min in sequence, and running the experiment with 7.5 mM TTAB, 12.5 mM tetraborate, and pH 9.0 of buffer solution at 20 kV applied voltage — nearly resolved separation (Rs= 1.0) of gold particles with mean diameter differences as small as 1 nm was achie