Gold nanoparticles possess unique optical and magnetic properties compared to bulk gold, allowing for various significant applications.Previous nanoscience work reveals a significant discovery by Burgi et al, that the ligand exchanges with free thiols and nanocluster Au25(SR)18 is done in a manner that isn’t governed by probability. This project is meant to quantify the ligand exchange of thiolate-protected gold nanoparticles and compare with that of Au25(SR)18 model clusters and determine whether similar ligand preferences exist.