Summary:

In the recent years, the benefits of mesoporous silica materials, in particular tunable pore size, higher surface area and pore volume, which provides higher loading of drugs. In addition, the incorporation into the pores as well as eventual binding between drug and functional groups of functionalized mesoporous carriers, made mesoporous systems very attractive for controlled drug delivery. The review reports the research work in this area discussing different mesoporous materials such as MCM-41, SBA-15 and hollow mesoporous spheres (HMS). Different approaches intended for modification of mesoporous systems, such as functionalisation with organics and polymer coating, are also discussed.