Bioactive Materials 2024-2025 Top 20 Highly Cited Papers Released: Hydrogels and Regenerative Medicine Lead Research Frontiers
Published 19 December, 2025
As the top-ranked journal in the "Materials Science, Biomaterials" category (Impact Factor: 20.3), Bioactive Materials (BAM) officially unveils its 2024-2025 Top 20 Highly Cited Papers list. Based on citation data from the Web of Science Core Collection, this list is selected from nearly 50 papers published by the journal during the period, with the highest total citations reaching 183 and an average of 110.3 citations per paper—far exceeding the journal’s average citation count of 15.85 for the same period. These papers stand as an "innovation compass" for the global biomaterials field.
Research Focus Areas: A Snapshot of Top 20 Papers
The Top 20 papers cover 5 core research areas, with hydrogels, wound healing, and regenerative medicine forming a "triple pillar" that directly addresses unmet clinical needs:
| Research Area | Number of Papers | Examples of Hot Topics |
| Hydrogel Materials | 5 | ATP-responsive hydrogels, antibacterial hydrogel dressings |
| Wound Healing & Dressings | 4 | Diabetic wound repair, antibacterial/antioxidant dressings |
| Organoids/Regenerative Medicine | 4 | Decellularized extracellular matrix, chondrocyte organoid construction |
| Nanomedicine/Cancer Therapy | 3 | Magnetic nanoparticles, ferroptosis-based tumor therapy |
| Smart Sensing/Biomanufacturing | 4 | SERS-based cancer diagnosis, stimuli-responsive materials |
Highlights of 3 "Flagship Papers"
1. Top-Ranked Paper (183 Citations): A Tough, Antibacterial, and Antioxidant Hydrogel Dressing
- Innovation: Integrates triple functions (mechanical toughness + antibacterial activity + anti-scarring), solving three key challenges in wound repair: poor durability, high infection risk, and excessive scarring.
- Impact: Accelerates acute wound healing by 40% and inhibits overproliferation of fibroblasts—laying a solid foundation for clinical translation.
2. Regenerative Medicine Benchmark (156 Citations): Review on Decellularized Extracellular Matrix Materials
- Value: Systematically summarizes the entire chain of decellularized matrix research, including preparation, modification, and clinical applications, while identifying current technical bottlenecks.
- Reader Feedback: "A must-read review for regenerative medicine researchers—it saved me 3 months of literature sorting!"
3. 2025 Rising Star (89 Citations in 1 Year): ATP-Activated Hydrogel Prodrug System
- Breakthrough: Uses ATP (produced by bacterial metabolism) to "trigger" targeted drug release, precisely combating multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.
- Significance: Avoids the "non-specific toxicity" of traditional antibiotics, offering a new solution for refractory infections.
3 Key Trends Shaping Future Research
- Hydrogels Remain Dominant: Research is shifting from "single-performance optimization" to "multifunctional integration" (e.g., "antibacterial + drug delivery + stimuli responsiveness") and "natural material modification" (e.g., silk fibroin, hyaluronic acid).
- Stronger Clinical Orientation: Studies are moving from "lab innovation" to "solving real-world problems"—such as materials specifically designed for diabetic wounds or osteoporotic fractures.
- Interdisciplinary Technologies Emerge: AI-aided optimization of bioprinting parameters and combined technologies (e.g., "hydrogel + microneedles + nanoparticles") are breaking disciplinary boundaries.
Editorial Message
"This list is not an 'end' but a 'starting point' ," said the BAM editorial team. "We hope these highly cited studies will inspire more researchers: the core value of biomaterials lies always in bridging lab innovations to clinical applications, truly addressing patients' needs."
Top 20 Papers
