Surface adsorbed chitosan-loaded solid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (S-SNEDDS) of glibenclamide (GBN) was developed. Low cost coffee husk was investigated as a biosorbent for solidification of liquid SNEDDS. Different liquid and S-SNEDDS of GBN were developed by aqueous phase titration method. Developed formulations were characterized in terms of thermodynamic stability, self-nanoemulsification efficiency, droplet size, viscosity, % transmittance, drug content and droplet morphology. Finally, selected liquid and surface adsorbed S-SNEDDS were subjected to in vitro dissolution. In vitro drug release studies showed 98.91% release of GBN from optimized formulation. The release pattern of GBN from S-SNEDDS was found to be sustained release type as compared to immediate release pattern of liquid SNEDDS. The results of solubility studies showed 1492 fold enhancement in GBN solubility in optimized SNEDDS. These results indicate that developed surface adsorbed chitosan loaded S-SNEDDS could be successfully used as a unit dosage form of GBN. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.