This paper presents the novel synthesis of peptide, N,N'(1,2-phenylene)bis-hippuricamide tethered metal [Cu(II), Zn(II), Ni(II) and Co(II)] based functionalized nanoparticles via modified Brust-Schiffrin methodology. The growth, organic composition and morphology of these functionalized nanoparticles have been evaluated by UV-Vis, FT-IR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. They are structurally and thermally characterized by X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. Moreover, the interfacial dealings of these functionalized nanoparticles with Calf-thymus DNA and pUC19 DNA reveal that the functionalized nanoparticles of cobalt is an effective DNA damaging agent under physiological conditions. This has been supported by its efficient antimicrobial character against few fungal and bacterial strains, thereby steering its way towards biomedical applications as a metal based nanocarrier. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.