Journal profile · Materials Science, Biomaterials
Biomaterials
ISSN 0142-9612 · eISSN 1878-5905 · Elsevier BV · NETHERLANDS · Biweekly · Founded 1980
Biomaterials: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 13.33; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,640; median 123 days to acceptance (170 articles, last 24 months); 789 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Biomaterials is published by Elsevier BV and is in Zone 1 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Bone Tissue Engineering Materials, Electrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical Applications and Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics, together about 27.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Biomedical Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Biomaterials is an international journal covering the science and clinical application of biomaterials. A biomaterial is now defined as a substance that has been engineered to take a form which, alone or as part of a complex system, is used to direct, by control of interactions with components of living systems, the course of any therapeutic or diagnostic procedure. It is the aim of the journal to provide a peer-reviewed forum for the publication of original papers and authoritative review and opinion papers dealing with the most important issues facing the use of biomaterials in clinical practice. The scope of the journal covers the wide range of physical, biological and chemical sciences that underpin the design of biomaterials and the clinical disciplines in which they are used. These sciences include polymer synthesis and characterization, drug and gene vector design, the biology of the host response, immunology and toxicology and self assembly at the nanoscale. Clinical applications include the therapies of medical technology and regenerative medicine in all clinical disciplines, and diagnostic systems that reply on innovative contrast and sensing agents. The journal is relevant to areas such as cancer diagnosis and therapy, implantable devices, drug delivery systems, gene vectors, bionanotechnology and tissue engineering.Click here for New Editorial Instructions.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Materials Science, Biomaterials
Editor-in-chief Kam LeongPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 17 in mainland China (about 18%); most named United States 27, Mainland China 17, South Korea 8, United Kingdom 6, Taiwan, China 4 (92 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Bone Tissue Engineering MaterialsEngineering12.3%
- Electrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical ApplicationsMaterials Science8.1%
- Nanoplatforms for cancer theranosticsEngineering7.4%
- RNA Interference and Gene DeliveryBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.5%
- 3D Printing in Biomedical ResearchEngineering6.3%
- Nanoparticle-Based Drug DeliveryMaterials Science5.8%
- Tissue Engineering and Regenerative MedicineMedicine5.7%
- Orthopaedic implants and arthroplastyMedicine5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Biomedical | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Biomaterials | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Biomedical | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Biomaterials | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Biomedical | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Biomaterials | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 13.33LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 13.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 24.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 24.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.85LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.84LetPub ·
- h-index
- 337LetPub ·
- h-index
- 495OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 18,886OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 12.17OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 16%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 728LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 22,785 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 631 | 120 | 757 |
| 2025 | 789 | 197 | 9,123 |
| 2024 | 531 | 169 | 13,861 |
| 2023 | 384 | 163 | 13,762 |
| 2022 | 541 | 185 | 28,951 |
| 2021 | 625 | 223 | 40,196 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
123 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 95 days – 159 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 2 days (170 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 126 days
- Sample
- 170 articles with submission and acceptance dates (1,764 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 1 monthLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 29.58%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 5 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 38 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 112 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,640 / EUR 4,340 / GBP 3,710 / JPY 575,500 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,800 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare1 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
Article types accepted4
- leading opinion paperLeading Opinion Paper: This article type may only be submitted by invitation from the Editor-in-Chief.Length not stated
- opinionOriginal Research: Provide a full length account of original research.Review: Provide an in-depth and up to date critical review of a related topic.Leading Opin…Length not stated
- original researchOriginal Research: Provide a full length account of original research.Review: Provide an in-depth and up to date critical review of a related topic.Leading Opin…Length not stated
- reviewOriginal Research: Provide a full length account of original research.Review: Provide an in-depth and up to date critical review of a related topic.Leading Opin…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Biweekly
- Founded
- 1980
- ISSN
- 0142-9612
- Electronic ISSN
- 1878-5905
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Biomaterials
What CAS zone is Biomaterials in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Biomaterials is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Engineering, Biomedical / Materials Science, Biomaterials; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Biomaterials?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 13.33; CiteScore 24.7, h-index 495.
How long does peer review take at Biomaterials?
Based on the dates recorded on 170 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 123 days (interquartile range 95–159 days); authors report an average review time of about 1 month. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Biomaterials based?
Of the 92 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 17 (about 18%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (27), Mainland China (17) and South Korea (8). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Biomaterials?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Biomaterials is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Biomaterials open access, and what is the APC?
Biomaterials is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,640.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .