Parın, Fatma NurYesilyurt, AysenurParın, Uğur2026-02-082026-02-0820242587-1943https://doi.org/10.46460/ijiea.1206901https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12885/5044As an antibacterial agent with pleasant fragrance, citral (CIT) indicates hydrophobic character, and therefore has low water solubility. In this study, Pickering emulsions were formed and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/whey protein hydrophilic nanofibers were coated on PP melt blown non-woven surfaces by electrospinning method. In this context, hydrophobic citral essential oil is stabilized with ?-cyclodextrin (?-CD) in the electrospinning process. PVA and whey protein polymer blend were used as nanofiber matrices. The morphological, physical, and thermal properties of the ?-CD/citral complexes were investigated in PVA/whey protein nanofiber-coated PP non-wovens at various ?-CD levels (1:2, 1:4 and 1:6). Furthermore, zone inhibition procedure was performed to evaluate antibacterial activity of the samples against Gram (+) (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC® 25923) and Gram (-) (Escherichia coli ATCC® 25922, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC® 27853) bacteria. The morphology of fibers showed that all obtained nanofiber-coated PP surfaces were in the range with 216 - 330 nm average fiber diameter. Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) thermograms revealed that citrals were successfully integrated into the bio-based nanofibers. As the amount of citral increased (i.e., the ?-CD/citral increased), the thermal resistance of bio-based nanofiber coated PP surfaces increased. Antibacterial activity indicated the citral-loaded nanofiber-coated PP surfaces were most effective against Escherichia coli, while none of the samples have antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Overall, the results displayed that the fabricated PVA/whey protein nanofiber-coated PP samples integrated with Pickering emulsion of citral stabilized have promising wound dressing applications.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessAntibacterial propertyPickering emulsionPP melt blownPVA/whey protein nanofiber?-CD/citral complexArticle10.46460/ijiea.120690181171254302