Comparative Analysis of Trends in Biomaterials for Bone Regeneration: A Bibliometric Perspective

Natural bone regeneration often falls short for complex or large defects, making costly bone grafting procedures a necessary intervention. Tissue engineering provides promising alternatives, and biomaterial selection is strongly crucial for its success. This study provides a bibliometric analysis from 2000 to 2024, comparing research trends on 35 biomaterials or regenerative strategies in bone regeneration, as well as active countries, clinical trials, and both animal and bone defect models. Our findings reveal declining trends for some calcium phosphate materials (i.e., biphasic calcium phosphate and tricalcium phosphate), stable trends for hydroxyapatite, and increasing research engagement for bioactive glasses and several natural polymers (i.e., silk fibroin, chitosan, alginate, gelatin, hyaluronic acid, and cellulose). However, collagen showed a declining research interest. From synthetic polymers, polycaprolactone is gaining research interest, while polylactic-co-glycolic acid and poly(methyl methacrylate) are declining. Newer advancements (i.e., exosomes, polydopamine coating, and graphene-based materials), gene therapy strategies, and peptides showed growth. Conversely, calcium sulfate, bone morphogenetic proteins, and platelet-rich plasma are declining. These comparative insights inform future research and biomaterial selection in bone regeneration.