# Electrospinning of Essential Oils
## 3 Electrospun Fibres Containing EOs and Their Applications
### Cinnamon Essential Oil
The efficacy of cinnamon EO, released from electrospun fibres, was demonstrated also for meat preservation, by the same group of authors [42]. In this case, PLA fibres containing cinnamon EO and \(\beta\)-CD inclusion complex (\(\beta\)-CD-IC) were electrospun from a solvent mixture of dichloromethane (DCM) and dimethylformamide (DMF, 3:1 DCM:DMF v/v ratio). PLA and EO/\(\beta\)-CD-IC concentrations were both of 10% w/v; while the EO:\(\beta\)-CD ratio was fixed at 1:9 to achieve an EO loading content of 10.8% w/w after complexation. The PLA/EO/\(\beta\)-CD-IC fibres produced had an average diameter of (850 \(\pm\) 120) nm (voltage of 15 kV, flow rate of 2.5 mL/h and needle-collector distance of 15 cm) and exhibited MIC and MBC values of 1 mg/mL and 7 mg/mL for _E. coli_ and _S. aureus_, respectively. The antimicrobial fibres prolonged the shelf-life of pork meat stored at 25 \({}^{\circ}\)C up to 8 days; while pork packed with fresh-keeping films decayed after 3 days. The results of these two works show that electrospun fibres are promising systems for the encapsulation and delivery of cinnamon EO to create active food packaging materials that are biodegradable and can delay food spoilage by inhibiting both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Innovation in the food packaging industry has recently seen the emergence of intelligent technologies based on compounds that not only prolong the shelf-life of food but more importantly respond, in a controlled and specialised fashion, to the presence of microorganisms [77]. In this scenario, [PERSON] and collaborators have developed active PEO electrospun fibres that release cinnamon EO in the presence of _B. cereus_, which is one of the most frequent causes of food poisoning outbreaks [43; 78]. Cinnamon EO was encapsulated in proteoliposomes, which are lipid nanovesicles incorporating membrane proteins and able to release the contained antibacterial agent only when they enter in contact with the target bacterium. Cinnamon EO was first complexed with \(\beta\)-CDs to enhance its stability and increase the encapsulation efficiency in proteoliposomes (Figure 2b). Solutions of PEO in water (5% w/v concentration) were prepared and mixed with cinnamon EO/\(\beta\)-CD proteoliposomes having an average size of (349 \(\pm\) 36) nm. The electrospinning process (voltage of 25 kV, flow rate of 0.6 mL/hour and needle-collector distance of 12 cm) resulted in fibres with a diameter between 500 and 650 nm. When the fibres were exposed to culture medium containing _B. cereus_ colonies, 80% of cinnamon EO was releases after 48 h at 37 \({}^{\circ}\)C, due to the activation of the proteoliposomes by the protease secreted by the bacteria (Figure 2b). A release of only 30% was instead detected without _B. cereus_ under the same in vitro conditions. The suitability of the fibres as packing material was demonstrated on fresh beef samples that were inoculated with _B. cereus_ and stored for 4 days at 25 and 37 \({}^{\circ}\)C. The fibres induced 99.99% reduction in _B. cereus_ population and had a negligible impact on the sensorial quality of beef (limited variations in beef colour and texture). The outcomes of this work highlight the potential of electrospun fibres as engineered systems for the controlled release of natural antimicrobial compounds in the field of food preservation.