Encapsulation of Orange Essential Oil Using Cross-linked Electrospun Gelatin Nanofibers

The aim of this study was to prepare electrospun gelatin (G) and gelatin-cross-linked tannic acid (GT) nanofibers loaded with orange essential oil. Four G/GT-to-orange essential oil ratios (1:0.25, 1:0.5, 1:0.74, and 1:1) were used to prepare orange oil-loaded nanofibers. The best encapsulation efficiency (69 and 52.6%) and oil content (34.45 and 26.26%) were observed at the ratio of 1:1 for both G and GT, respectively. The morphology and thermal properties of the electrospun fibers as well as the release and storage stability of loaded orange essential oil were investigated at the selected ratio. The results indicated that the fibrous structure of the orange essential oil-loaded samples was maintained. It is found that both G and GT provided suitable controlled release of orange essential oil and were successful in improving its storage stability.