Silk-based biomaterials and applications
Silk-based biomaterials and applications is a research topic within Biomaterials. Science Explorer counts 21k research works in it since 1950. 20.3% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers focuses on the biomedical applications of silk biomaterials, particularly silk fibroin, in areas such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, and understanding the mechanical properties and protein structure of silk. It also covers topics related to spider silk and regenerated silk, as well as the genome sequencing and biodegradation of silk biomaterials.
- Silk Fibroin
- Biomaterials
- Tissue Engineering
- Spider Silk
- Regenerated Silk
- Drug Delivery
- Mechanical Properties
- Genome Sequencing
- Biodegradation
- Protein Structure
- Research works
- 21k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 4.3k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 20.3% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +23% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Silk-based biomaterials and applications research?
By volume, China and India publish the most (1.4k and 448 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 China 1.4k works
- 2 India 448 works
- 3 United States 372 works
- 4 Iran 184 works
- 5 Japan 138 works
- 6 South Korea 120 works
- 7 Germany 112 works
- 8 Türkiye 100 works
- 9 Italy 96 works
- 10 United Kingdom 92 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.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Silk-based biomaterials and applications research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Soochow University publishes the most Silk-based biomaterials and applications research, followed by Southwest University and Zhejiang Sci-Tech University.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Soochow University China 48 works
- 2 Southwest University China 42 works
- 3 Zhejiang Sci-Tech University China 30 works
- 4 Sichuan University China 27 works
- 5 Donghua University China 27 works
- 6 Jiangnan University China 23 works
- 7 Zhejiang University China 21 works
- 8 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China 20 works
- 9 Tufts University United States 19 works
- 10 Wuhan Textile University China 17 works
Who are the leading researchers in Silk-based biomaterials and applications?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Silk-based biomaterials and applications include Seeram Ramakrishna and Lei Jiang.
- 1 Seeram Ramakrishna 5.1k citations
- 2 Lei Jiang 3.8k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Silk-based biomaterials and applications research done?
The largest centres of Silk-based biomaterials and applications research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Hangzhou (China) and Tehran (Iran). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Suzhou and Wuxi.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- SuzhouCN · 58.8 works8.5×
- WuxiCN · 27.4 works6.9×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Silk-based biomaterials and applications than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Silk-based biomaterials and applications?
Among universities, judged by research, Donghua University, Southwest University and Tufts University 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.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Donghua University China | 57.6 | 31.3% | 17.5× | 26 | -47.8% |
| 2 | Southwest University China | 57.0 | 18.0% | 18.6× | 42 | -5.4% |
| 3 | Tufts University United States | 55.2 | 29.6% | 17.5× | 19 | -32.3% |
| 4 | Soochow University China | 54.4 | 13.7% | 14.5× | 48 | -32.2% |
| 5 | University of Minho Portugal | 52.7 | 22.4% | 9.7× | 14 | +33.9% |
| 6 | Jiangnan University China | 50.0 | 15.7% | 9.2× | 23 | +50.0% |
| 7 | Wuhan Textile University China | 49.7 | 18.2% | 26.8× | 17 | +43.5% |
| 8 | Sichuan University China | 47.4 | 40.6% | 3.9× | 27 | -12.3% |
| 9 | Zhejiang Sci-Tech University China | 46.1 | 10.8% | 23.7× | 30 | -45.1% |
| 10 | Qingdao University China | 46.1 | 46.5% | 5.1× | 12 | +3.3% |
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 Silk-based biomaterials and applications research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 23% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Silk-based biomaterials and applications.
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.