A capillary electrophoresis method for the simultaneous separation of caseins, whey proteins, and para-kappa-casein that appears during the manufacture of cheese was optimized using the response surface methodology. The parameters selected for this study were pH, voltage, and temperature. Under the optimized conditions (30 kV at 20 degrees C with 10 mM phosphate buffer at pH 3) casein proteins alpha(s)-casein; beta-casein, including genetic variants A1, A2, and B, kappa-CN, and para-kappa-CN; and whey proteins alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin (A and B variants) were separated. The method was applied successfully to skim milk, to casein precipitated at pH 4.6, and to a model sample containing rennet casein and milk. The milk used was of three types: cow, ewe, and goat. The present procedure can be easily applied to the separation of the major bovine, ovine, and caprine milk proteins in binary and ternary milk mixtures.