A new strategy for chiral separation by capillary electrophoresis employing modified-nanoparticles as chiral selector is described for clenbuterol analysis. Nanoparticles modified with beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) form a large surface area platform to serve as a pseudostationary chiral phase, which can be applied for the enhancement of the enantioseparation. The application of four kinds of nanoparticles was investigated (multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs), polystyrene (PS), TiO(2) and Al(2)O(3)) modified with single layer beta-CD as chiral selector in the enantioseparation of clenbuterol by capillary electrophoresis (CE). Successful clenbuterol enantioseparation could be achieved with the beta-CD-modified MWNTs as chiral selector. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the beta-CD modification of the nanoparticles. The effects of nanoparticles, surfactant, chiral selector (beta-CD) and run buffer were studied in relation to the enantiomeric separation of clenbuterol. This study opens attractive perspectives for the use of modified nanoparticles for chiral separational purposes in CE.