Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MCM-41) were used as a carrier system to study the influence of surface charge and hydrophobicity on solubility and in-vitro drug release behavior of Griseofulvin, a potent antifungal drug with low water solubility. Bare MCM-41 with a pure silica composition, MCM-41 after amino functionalization (MCM-41-NH2) and methyl functionalization (MCM-41-CH3) were used in this study followed by encapsulation of griseofulvin. Various characterization techniques have been employed to confirm the successful drug loading inside the nanopores. The surface functionalization on MCM-41 is found to have significant effect on griseofulvin's in vitro release and solubility. Both negatively and positively charged surface showed enhancement in solubility and drug release of griseofulvin. However, the hydrophobic modification led to a retarded drug release, which is caused by the poor wetting effect in the case of MCM-41-CH3 nanoparticles. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.