The use of mesoporous silicon particles for drug delivery has been widely explored thanks to their biodegradability and biocompatibility. The ability to tailor the physicochemical properties of porous silicon at the micro and nano scale confers versatility to this material. We present a method for the fabrication of highly reproducible, monodisperse mesoporous silicon particles with controlled physical characteristics through electrochemical etch of patterned silicon trenches. We tailored particle size in the micrometer range and pore size in the nanometer range, shape from tubular to discoidal to hemispherical, and porosity from 46% to over 80%. In addition, we correlated the properties of the porous matrix with the loading of model nanoparticles (Q-dots) and observed their three-dimensional arrangement within the matrix by transmission electron microscopy tomography. The methods developed in this study provide effective means to fabricate mesoporous silicon particles according to the principles of rational design for therapeutic vectors and to characterize the distribution of nanoparticles within the porous matrix
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