Research Article Fabrication and Evaluation of Polycaprolactone/Gelatin-Based Electrospun Nanofibers with Antibacterial Properties Lor Huai Chong, 1 Mim Mim Lim, 1 and Naznin Sultana 1,2 1 Faculty of Biosciences and Medical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor, Malaysia 2 Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor, Malaysia Correspondence should be addressed to Naznin Sultana; naznin@biomedical.utm.my Received 8 September 2014; Accepted 27 November 2014 Academic Editor: Qi Wang Copyright © 2015 Lor Huai Chong et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Nanoibrous scafolds were fabricated through blending of a synthetic polymer, polycaprolactone (PCL), and a natural polymer, gelatin (GE), using an electrospinning technique. Processing and solution parameters were optimized to determine the suitable properties of PCL/GE-based nanoibers. Several characterizations were conducted to determine surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), wettability using water contact angle measurement, and chemical bonding analysis using attenuated total relectance (ATR) of PCL/GE-based nanoibers. Experimental results showed that 14% (w/v) PCL/GE with a low rate of 0.5 mL/h and 18 kV demonstrated suitable properties. his nanoiber was then further investigated for its in vitro degradation, drug loading (using a model drug, tetracycline hydrochloride), and antibacterial testing (using zone inhibition method). 1. Introduction In cases of full-thickness burns or deep ulcers, there are no remaining sources of cells for tissue regeneration and recovery [1]. hese severely injured parts will deteriorate further if a patient has diabetes [2]. Hence, tissue engineering (TE) technology is crucial to solve this issue. TE provides an alternative pathway for tissue regeneration and recovery using polymeric biomaterials [3] to harvest tissues for trans- plantation [4] from the patient’s own cells. In human skin, extracellular matrix (ECM) is a key element in monitoring cell behavior while scafold design is the most important component in TE [5]. Biomaterials scafolds play a pivotal role in providing a synthetic but suitable ECM environment for growing cells and drug delivery in severely injured skin [6]. Recently, the rapid growth of nanotechnology has spurred the development of nanoibrous scafolds [7]. here are many fabrication techniques including phase separation, self- assembly, and electrospinning [8]. Among these, electro- spinning is the most widely used [9]. he technique of electrospinning is dependent on several types of parameters, including solution parameters such as concentration, vis- cosity, and solution conductivity and processing parameters such as voltage applied, temperature, low rate, and distance between tip of syringe and collector [10–12]. Electrospinning technology has led to wide interest in scafold fabrication, in the main because the biological and mechanical properties of nanoibers can be easily manipulated by altering the solution and processing parameters [13]. Electrospinning is a relatively simple technique for fabricating highly porous nanosize scaf- folds from a wide variety of polymers including biopolymers such as gelatin, collagen, and ibrinogen [14] on a large scale. he large surface area to volume ratio of nanoibers enhances the difusion eiciency of nutrient and gaseous exchange [15]. Porosity, air permeability, and surface wettability of nanoibers are important elements for regenerating skin tissue [16]. Also electrospinning is able to fabricate nanoibers with similar morphology and architectural features to the natural ECM in skin [13]. In addition, biodegradable scafolds are able to degrade and thus change their structure over time to seeded cells in order to proliferate and produce their own ECM [17]. Using biodegradable polymer via electrospinning is important in skin to avoid the need for surgical removal [18]. Recent studies have shown that PCL/GE can be used for dermal reconstitution [13] and wound healing or wound dressing [19]. However, there is less research on the antibacterial testing of PCL/GE nanoibers for the application Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Nanomaterials Volume 2015, Article ID 970542, 8 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/970542