Drug–polymerinteraction in the all-trans retinoic acidrelease from chitosan microparticles

Chitosan microparticles were prepared with the purpose of incorporating all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA). Morphology, drug content, release behavior and the interaction between chitosan and ATRA were investigated. Chitosan microparticles presented irregular and rough surface and drug content of 47±3%. The results of DSC and IR spectroscopy demonstrated interaction between drug and polymer resulting from retinoate or retinoamide formation. The drug release study showed that approximately 90% of drug was not released from microparticles until the end of experiment (48 h). That release behavior was probably due to the strong drug–polymer interaction and the more compact network of microparticles formed.