There is considerable interest in the synthesis of nanostructures that exhibit a larger degree of structural complexity than particles, including nanowires, nanorods, nanofibers, nanotubes and mesh structures. These materials have potential applications in engineering membranes, energy storage devices, nanoscaled antennas for wireless and satellite communication and electrical nanocircuits. Methods based in wet chemistry for mass scale production of these nanostructres are, with little doubt, an important step in the commercialization of nanoscaled electronics and future scientific breakthroughs. We present work on a wet chemical approach to the synthesis of one dimensional silver nanostructures prepared from the reaction of mercaptoacetic acid and silver nitrate. In contrast to previous works related to the synthesis of nanostructures, the approach presented here does not rely on templates to form the one dimensional structures. It takes advantage of molecular properties to guide particles into the formation of functional nanostructures. Various experimental techniques, including TEM, wet and dry SEM, FTIR microscopy and DLC are used to establish a thiol mediated assembly mechanism that involves hydrogen bonding interactions among the carboxylic acid groups of the thiol to drive the one dimensional growth of the nanofibers.