An antimicrobial composition comprising metal particles that may be silver, copper, or gold together with a surfactant such as benzalkonium chloride in a liquid medium, which is preferably deionized water, that will not react with the other constituents of the antimicrobial composition. Preferably, the composition also comprises a source of iodine, such as poly(vinyl pyrrolidone)-iodine complex. And a substrate carrier having the same type of metal as the particles deposited onto it may also be introduced into the liquid medium. The metal particles are preferably nanoparticles but may be in the micron size, in the submicron size, or bulk particles.