Laser ablation of gold was studied in chloroform solutions of cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide (CTAB). Instead of the formation of gold colloids we observed the formation of cetyltrimethylammonium tetrabromo aurate and possibly cetyltrimethylammonium dibromo aurate. We show that this is due to complexation of gold ions that are formed in the initial stages of the ablation process. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.