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Subfield · Materials Science

Biomaterials research

Biomaterials is a subfield of Materials Science. Science Explorer counts 411k research works in it since 1950. 20.1% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: any substance that has been engineered to interact with biological systems for a medical purpose.

Research works
411k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
83k
per year above
Top-10% rate
20.1%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
13
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+31%
the tick is no change

What is Biomaterials research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Biomedical Applications, Nanocomposites, Drug Delivery, Tissue Engineering, Biodegradable Polymers, Nanofibers. Gaining share since 2009–13: Chitin, Chitosan, Cellulose Nanocrystals, Nanocellulose, Antioxidant. Losing share: Calotropis procera, Latex, Biomimetic Synthesis, Peptide-Directed Materials.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 36 words, with their numbers
  1. Biomedical Applications78k◆ 1.12×7 topics
  2. Nanocomposites55k◆ 1.08×5 topics
  3. Drug Delivery43k◆ 1.05×4 topics
  4. Tissue Engineering41k◆ 1.11×5 topics
  5. Biodegradable Polymers27k◆ 1.14×2 topics
  6. Nanofibers24k◆ 1.07×2 topics
  7. Biomaterials23k◆ 1.04×4 topics
  8. Electrospinning19k▲ 1.17×1 topic
  9. Polymer Nanofibers19k▲ 1.17×1 topic
  10. Polyhydroxyalkanoates17k◆ 0.98×1 topic
  11. Polylactic Acid17k◆ 0.98×1 topic
  12. Nanocarriers14k◆ 1.05×1 topic
  13. Nanoparticles14k◆ 1.05×1 topic
  14. Antioxidant12k▲ 1.21×2 topics
  15. Mechanical Properties11k▼ 0.78×3 topics
  16. Cellulose Nanocrystals10k▲ 1.43×1 topic
  17. Nanocellulose10k▲ 1.43×1 topic
  18. Chitin9,872▲ 1.58×1 topic
  19. Chitosan9,872▲ 1.58×1 topic
  20. Self-Assembly8,654▼ 0.73×2 topics
  21. Biodegradable Materials6,095▼ 0.82×1 topic
  22. Magnesium Alloys6,095▼ 0.82×1 topic
  23. Peptide Amphiphiles5,966▼ 0.85×1 topic
  24. Supramolecular5,966▼ 0.85×1 topic
  25. Clay Nanotubes5,506◆ 0.92×1 topic
  26. Halloysite5,506◆ 0.92×1 topic
  27. Silk Fibroin4,716◆ 0.87×1 topic
  28. Spider Silk4,716◆ 0.87×1 topic
  29. Bioinspired Materials3,765▼ 0.74×1 topic
  30. Biomineralization3,765▼ 0.74×1 topic
  31. Biomimetic Synthesis2,688▼ 0.56×1 topic
  32. Peptide-Directed Materials2,688▼ 0.56×1 topic
  33. Collagen2,498▼ 0.70×1 topic
  34. Gelatin2,498▼ 0.70×1 topic
  35. Calotropis procera1,712▼ 0.52×1 topic
  36. Latex1,712▼ 0.52×1 topic

Which countries lead Biomaterials research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, India and the United States rank highest in Biomaterials. By volume, China and India publish the most (27k and 9.4k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #2 all time 26.6% top 10% · 27k works
  2. 2 India · #3 all time 17.3% top 10% · 9.4k works
  3. 3 United States · #1 all time 18.3% top 10% · 6.5k works
  4. 4 Iran · #11 all time 23.0% top 10% · 3k works
  5. 5 South Korea · #8 all time 20.8% top 10% · 2.2k works
  6. 6 Canada · #9 all time 22.1% top 10% · 1.3k works
  7. 7 United Kingdom · #5 all time 20.2% top 10% · 1.6k works
  8. 8 Germany · #4 all time 14.1% top 10% · 2.1k works
  9. 9 Italy · #12 all time 19.4% top 10% · 1.9k works
  10. 10 Australia · #10 all time 23.9% top 10% · 942 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 51 countries ranked in Biomaterials. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Biomaterials

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 27k works
  2. 2 India 9.4k works
  3. 3 United States 6.5k works
  4. 4 Iran 3k works
  5. 5 Japan 2.5k works
  6. 6 Brazil 2.4k works
  7. 7 South Korea 2.2k works
  8. 8 Indonesia 2.2k works
  9. 9 Germany 2.1k works
  10. 10 Türkiye 2k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 45.7%India: 15.7%United States: 10.9%Iran: 5.1%6 others listed: 22.7%46%largest
China27k · 45.7%India9,366 · 15.7%United States6,486 · 10.9%Iran3,049 · 5.1%6 others listed14k · 22.7%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Biomaterials research?

Sichuan University (China) ranks first in Biomaterials on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Chinese Academy of Sciences and Nanjing Forestry University.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Sichuan University China · Chengdu · #5 all time 30.7% top 10% · 515 works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #2 all time 25.6% top 10% · 456 works
  3. 3 Nanjing Forestry University China · Nanjing · #22 all time 31.7% top 10% · 333 works
  4. 4 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China · Shanghai · #8 all time 31.8% top 10% · 294 works
  5. 5 Zhejiang University China · Hangzhou · #6 all time 30.6% top 10% · 298 works
  6. 6 South China University of Technology China · Guangzhou · #19 all time 27.5% top 10% · 362 works
  7. 7 Saveetha University India · Chennai 27.1% top 10% · 239 works
  8. 8 Donghua University China · Shanghai · #16 all time 26.9% top 10% · 293 works
  9. 9 Jiangsu University China · Zhenjiang · #54 all time 39.5% top 10% · 178 works
  10. 10 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #18 all time 29.1% top 10% · 217 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 238 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Biomaterials.

Top 100 Biomaterials institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Sichuan UniversityChina 515 works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 456 works
  3. 3 South China University of TechnologyChina 363 works
  4. 4 Nanjing Forestry UniversityChina 333 works
  5. 5 Zhejiang UniversityChina 297 works
  6. 6 Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina 294 works
  7. 7 Donghua UniversityChina 293 works
  8. 8 Jiangnan UniversityChina 278 works
  9. 9 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 263 works
  10. 10 Saveetha UniversityIndia 239 works

Who are the leading researchers in Biomaterials?

Among the most productive authors in Biomaterials, Amirhossein Sahebkar, Darwin J. Prockop and Hongjie Dai rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Amirhossein Sahebkar Iran · #123 worldwide 5.6k citations · 243 works
  2. 2 Darwin J. Prockop United States · #175 worldwide 3.8k citations · 131 works
  3. 3 Hongjie Dai United States · #840 worldwide 5.8k citations · 100 works
  4. 4 Zhuang Liu China · #1,007 worldwide 3.6k citations · 182 works
  5. 5 Marc A. Meyers United States · #1,008 worldwide 3.2k citations · 128 works
  6. 6 Róbert Langer United States · #1,884 worldwide 4.2k citations · 244 works
  7. 7 Chad A. Mirkin United States · #2,755 worldwide 4.6k citations · 236 works
  8. 8 Yusuf Chisti New Zealand · #3,055 worldwide 2.2k citations · 104 works
  9. 9 Edward J. Miller United States · #3,107 worldwide 1.1k citations · 93 works
  10. 10 Alain Dufresne France · #3,187 worldwide 2.2k citations · 140 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,205 highest-output authors in Biomaterials. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Biomaterials researchers

Where is Biomaterials research done?

The largest centres of Biomaterials research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Nanjing (China) and Tehran (Iran). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Pozzuoli, Geesthacht and Sahāranpur.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 3.6k works
  2. 2 Shanghai China 1.9k works
  3. 3 Nanjing China 1.4k works
  4. 4 Tehran Iran 1.3k works
  5. 5 Guangzhou China 1.3k works
  6. 6 Hangzhou China 1.1k works
  7. 7 Chengdu China 1k works
  8. 8 Wuhan China 980 works
  9. 9 Xi'an China 884 works
  10. 10 Chennai India 873 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. PozzuoliIT · 41.6 works20×
  2. GeesthachtDE · 51.5 works13×
  3. SahāranpurIN · 20.4 works12×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Biomaterials than the world average.

See Biomaterials on the map

Biomaterials research by country

The best places for Biomaterials research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Biomaterials?

Among universities, judged by research, Nanjing Forestry University, Donghua University and Qilu University of Technology score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 30.71%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Nanjing Forestry University: 333, 31.7%Donghua University: 293, 26.9%Qilu University of Technology: 118, 29.8%Tianjin University of Science and Technology: 135, 35.5%Shandong Academy of Sciences: 86, 31.0%Saveetha University: 239, 27.1%Tabriz University of Medical Sciences: 99, 29.6%Yeungnam University: 82, 39.6%National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology: 53, 23.3%Beijing Forestry University: 158, 32.6%Tianjin University o…Nanjing Forestry Uni…Qilu University of T…Donghua University
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 Nanjing Forestry UniversityChina 63.731.7%8.3×333 +62.9%
2 Donghua UniversityChina 57.026.9%9.1×293 -14.6%
3 Qilu University of TechnologyChina 55.129.8%5.7×118 +270.6%
4 Tianjin University of Science and TechnologyChina 54.235.5%8.0×135 +17.5%
5 Shandong Academy of SciencesChina 53.631.0%5.9×86 +429.6%
6 Saveetha UniversityIndia 53.027.1%2.8×239 +411.5%
7 Tabriz University of Medical SciencesIran 52.929.6%5.0×99 +277.8%
8 Yeungnam UniversitySouth Korea 51.639.6%4.4×82 +74.6%
9 National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and TechnologyItaly 51.323.3%14.9×53 +77.3%
10 Beijing Forestry UniversityChina 49.832.6%6.3×158 +24.7%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Biomaterials research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 31% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Advanced Cellulose Research Studies, Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery and Nanocomposite Films for Food Packaging.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Advanced Cellulose Research Studies+238%
  2. Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery+231%
  3. Nanocomposite Films for Food Packaging+183%
  4. Electrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical Applications+152%
  5. Supramolecular Self-Assembly in Materials+110%
  6. Silk-based biomaterials and applications+71%
  7. Phytochemistry and Bioactive Compounds-14%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Biomaterials include?

biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties: 73k fractional worksElectrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical Applications: 60k fractional worksNanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery: 48k fractional worksAdvanced Cellulose Research Studies: 33k fractional worksNanocomposite Films for Food Packaging: 30k fractional worksClay minerals and soil interactions: 30k fractional worksSupramolecular Self-Assembly in Materials: 24k fractional worksMagnesium Alloys: Properties and Applications: 23k fractional worksDiatoms and Algae Research: 23k fractional worksSilk-based biomaterials and applications: 21k fractional worksCalcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition: 20k fractional worksCollagen: Extraction and Characterization: 15k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.