We present a study on the synthesis of narrowly dispersed silver and gold nanoparticles using generation five amino-terminated poly(amidoamine) dendrimers as a template. UV-vis spectrophotometry was performed to monitor the synthesis process and to characterize the metal nanoparticles. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were also used to characterize the metal nanoparticles. A catalytic oxidation of morin (quercetin) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide was performed as a model reaction to evaluate the metal nanoparticle activities. Ultra high performance liquid chromatography analysis was performed to identify the reaction products. The kinetic data obtained were modeled to the Langmuir-Hinshelwood equation. The encapsulated silver and gold nanoparticles show high activity which confirm the passive interaction with the dendrimer. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.