**2.6 Silicon-based nanomaterials**

Silicon-based nanostructures are reconfigured by means of assorted techniques including etching, photolithography and deposition. Materials like porous silicon, silica and silicon dioxide are facile to reconfigure as the calcified nanopores, nanoparticles and nanoneedles. Assorted porous hollow silica nanoparticle suspensions owing sacrificial nanoscale templates mostly involved the usage of sodium silicate as a precursor. Such reconfigurated silicon-derived materials can offer effective delivery of drugs like porous silicon-embedded platinum which is applied for many usages like antitumour drug release and carrier for antibody, antibiotic, enzyme and DNA. These materials also act as good semiconductors and thus preferred in micro-electromechanical usage [1–3].
