Anisotropic crystallographic structure of a solid dictates the strategy for fabrication. But general strategies to obtain anisotropic nanomaterials having one dimensional structure such as nanowires and nanotubes and two dimensional structures including lamellar systems such as quantum wells and nanohybrids are: through confinement by a liquid droplet, through the use of a template, by the kinetic control provided by capping reagent, by self-assembly of nanostructures and by size reduction of a one dimensional microstructures.