Sol-gel based silica nanoparticles of 100 nm were used to interact with copper ions from the dissolution of CuCl2 allowing the synthesis of paratacamite (Cu-2(OH)(3)Cl) nanocrystals of around 20 nm. The method produced well dispersed copper nanostructures directly supported on the surface of the SiO2 particles and was generalized by using a natural zeolite microparticle as support with similar results. These hybrid Cu based nanoparticles released copper ions when immersed in water explaining their antimicrobial behavior against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as measured by the minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MIC and MBC). Noteworthy, when these nanostructured particles were mixed with an organic coating the resulting film eliminated until a 99% of both bacteria at concentrations as low as 0.01 wt%. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.