Preparation and characterization of micelles of oligomeric chitosan linked to all-trans retinoic acid

► Synthesis of a new derivative of chitosan, oligomeric chitosan linked to all trans retinoic acid, and evaluation of micelle formation. ► Micelles show low CAC value, colloidal stability, lack of cytotoxicity, nano-range particle size and positive charge. ► Loading all trans retinoic acid as hydrophobic drug in the micelles shows a good loading efficiency and sustained release capacity in which make the micelles a good candidate for drug delivery.