Polysaccharide-based aerogels-Promising biodegradable carriers for drug delivery systems

► State-of-the-art of polysaccharide aerogels for pharmaceutical uses are described. ► Aerogel technology provides highly porous, high surface area, lightweight carriers. ► Biodegradable and biocompatible carriers with high drug loading capacity are obtained. ► Processing parameters strongly influence the resulting end material properties. ► Case studies on polysaccharide aerogels and their use in drug delivery are described.