Effect of tannic acid on properties of electrospun gelatin nanofibres

Gelatin/tannic acid nanofibres have been prepared and the effects of production parameters, including high voltage, feeding rate and distance between tip of the needle and collector on the morphology of nanofibres are investigated. The results show that the average nanofibre diameter increases with raising the high voltage values, due to less branching of liquid jet. Increasing the feeding rate leads to an increase in the nanofibre diameter, up to a certain value (0.6-0.8 mL/h). Further increase in the feeding rate value causes the formation of a ribbon-like structure. The increment in the content of tannic acid as a crosslinker increases the viscosity of the spinning solution and the average nanofibre diameters. Also, the tensile strength of crosslinked nanofibres increases as compared to that of the gelatin nanofibres. Moreover, the addition of tannic acid to gelatin nanofibres significantly enhances the antibacterial property of nanofibres.