New ways of the covalent immobilization of Mn(III) and Mo(IV) Salen complexes on a mesoporous silica support to produce a stable heterogeneous catalyst for epoxidation reactions are reported. Peptide and ester interactions were employed to anchor the metal Salen complex on the organo-modified silica framework. Electrospray MS, FTIR, TGA, ICP-OES and elemental analysis were used for quantitative and qualitative analyses of the immobilized Salen complexes. The results confirm the location of the metal Salen complex inside the mesopores covalently attached to the silica framework. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.