Biocompatible synthetic polymer gel scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine were prepared by reactive electrospinning. Protein-like nano- and microfibres from chemically crosslinked polysuccinimide were obtained. Fibrous poly(aspartic acid) gels with size similar to that of extracellular matrix were obtained by hydrolysis of the polysuccinimide gel fibres. The effects of process parameters on fibre morphology (diameter, swelling degree) and chemical structure were investigated. Sub-micrometre-sized biocompatible fibrous scaffolds from a poly(amino acid) is a novel approach with great promise in several biomedical applications due to the tailor-made synthetic nature, extreme purity and possibility of production on a large scale. (C) 2014 Society of Chemical Industry