Mesoporous microbeads can be easily obtained by radical polymerization of biocompatible glycerol dimethacrylate (GDMA) in supercritical carbon dioxide. Small mass density microparticles (rho = 0.19-0.37 g cm(-3)) with controlled size (1-3 mu m) and homogeneous morphology are obtained by the addition of different stabilizers to the polymerization media. The microbeads were obtained in quantitative yield as white, dry powders directly from the reaction vessel possessing a pollen-like morphology. The (S)-ibuprofen loading (up to 120 mg g(-1)) and release profile from the PGDMA microbeads is highly promising which makes them potential drug delivery vehicles. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.