Nanomedicine in the struggle against COVID-19: a bibliometric analysis of Web of Science publications with the R-tool Bibliometrix

Authors

Keywords:

nanomedicine, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, bibliometrics.

Abstract

In the period barely exceeding one year elapsed after its emergence, COVID-19 has caused more than 100 000 000 contagions and more than 2 000 000 deaths worldwide. Faced with this situation, scientists from various disciplines have arduously struggled against the disease. One of the disciplines involved in research about COVID-19 is nanomedicine, which is defined as the medical application of nanotechnology. The purpose of the study was to describe the current status of research about COVID-19 oriented nanomedicine through a bibliometric analysis. A search was conducted for Web of Science publications from the period 2019-2021, covering five nanomedicine areas: 1) drug administration, 2) drugs and therapy, 3) in vivo imaging, 4) biosensors and 5) biomaterials. The data obtained from Web of Science were processed with Bibliometrix, an open code tool programmed in R-language useful for bibliometric analysis. A total 155 publications were found, most of which were articles and literature reviews. More than 70% of the publications dealt with drug administration and biosensors. The scientific journals publishing the largest number of articles were ACS Nano, Biosensors & Bioelectronics and Nanomaterials. The countries with the largest scientific production were the United States, India and China. The most relevant contributions of nanomedicine to the struggle against COVID-19 are the development of nano vaccines and the design of nanostructured biosensors for diagnosis.

Author Biographies

Roberto Soto Vázquez, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Unidad Zacatenco. Ciudad de México.

Doctorante del Programa de Doctorado Transdisciplinario en Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico para la Sociedad. Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional.

Edgar Záyago Lau, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas. Unidad Académica en Estudios del Desarrollo. Zacatecas.

Profesor Investigador, Unidad Académica en Estudios del Desarrollo.

Luis Alfonso Maldonado López, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Unidad Mérida. Yucatán.

Profesor Investigador, Departamento de Física Aplicada.

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Published

2022-05-13

How to Cite

1.
Soto Vázquez R, Záyago Lau E, Maldonado López LA. Nanomedicine in the struggle against COVID-19: a bibliometric analysis of Web of Science publications with the R-tool Bibliometrix. Rev. cuba. inf. cienc. salud [Internet]. 2022 May 13 [cited 2025 Feb. 10];33. Available from: https://acimed.sld.cu/index.php/acimed/article/view/1880

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Vol. 33 (2022): Publicación continua

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Sección temática: Ciencias de la información y COVID-19

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