US Patent 8062407 - Production of silver nanoparticles using a household microwave

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8062407.html

This patent from Northwest Missouri State University teaches a relatively simple and inexpensive method to create silver nanoparticles useful in antimicrobial solutions. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of producing silver nanoparticles comprising the steps of:

providing an aqueous solution containing a quantity of silver nitrate and a quantity of a carbohydrate reductant;

heating said solution in a household microwave oven;

separating and collecting silver nanoparticles from said solution; and

recovering unreacted silver ions from said solution.