Just over a year ago, we launched Biomedical Materials Science with a simple but ambitious goal: to provide an open-access home for high-quality research at the interface of materials science, engineering, biology, and medicine. Since publishing our inaugural editorial, Introducing Biomedical Materials Science: advancing materials innovation for real-world healthcare impact, the journal has begun to establish itself as a venue for innovative and interdisciplinary research that addresses some of healthcare's most pressing challenges.
As we celebrate our first anniversary, we'd like to take a moment to reflect on the journal's journey so far, highlight some of the outstanding research we've published, and thank the editors, authors, reviewers, and readers who have helped make this first year such a success.
Building a Global Editorial Team
A strong journal starts with a strong editorial board, and we have been fortunate to bring together an exceptional group of researchers from across the biomedical materials landscape.
Under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief Gianni Ciofani (Italian Institute of Technology, Italy), our Associate Editors represent a wide range of expertise, from biomaterials and tissue engineering to nanomedicine, bioelectronics, regenerative medicine, and artificial intelligence in healthcare. Their dedication has been instrumental in helping us establish rigorous editorial standards while fostering a welcoming and supportive experience for authors.
We would like to thank all our Associate Editors, including Steven Cui, Aitor Larrañaga Espartero, Dorna Esrafilzadeh, Carmine Gentile, Tiantian Kong, Alan Li, Aida Serra Maqueda, Attilio Marino, Nicola Contessi Negrini, Mariana Oliveira, Dan Romanyk, Ervin Sejdic, Tiago H. Silva, Christos Tapeinos, and Lorenzo Vannozzi, for contributing their expertise and vision during the journal's formative year.
Research Highlights from Our First Year
One of the most exciting aspects of launching a new journal is watching the breadth of topics that emerge from the community. Over the past year, Biomedical Materials Science has published work spanning nanomedicine, tissue engineering, antimicrobial technologies, bioelectronics, regenerative medicine, and artificial intelligence.
To celebrate our first anniversary, we have selected a few publications that capture the interdisciplinary spirit of the journal.
Biomaterials Meet Artificial Intelligence
The integration of AI and biomaterials has rapidly become one of the most exciting areas in the field. In Innovative wound nanofiber mats: revolutionizing wound care through quality by design and artificial intelligence, the authors explored how data-driven approaches can accelerate the development of advanced wound-healing materials. The article highlights how artificial intelligence can be leveraged to optimize material design and manufacturing processes, opening new opportunities for personalization and efficiency in healthcare.
Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance
Antimicrobial resistance remains one of the greatest global healthcare challenges. Two notable publications addressed this topic from different perspectives.
In Antimicrobial resistance: emerging therapeutic alternatives and their translational limitations, the authors examined promising alternatives to conventional antibiotics while highlighting the barriers that remain before many of these technologies can reach clinical practice.
Meanwhile, Comparative screening of porphyrins and chitosan-porphyrin composites as potential antibacterial photodynamic inactivation photosensitizers against multidrug-resistant ESKAPE pathogens demonstrated the continued innovation occurring in antimicrobial materials and photodynamic therapies.
Together, these articles showcase the critical role that materials science can play in combating resistant infections.
Looking Beyond Traditional Therapies
Several publications explored the future of advanced therapeutics and regenerative medicine.
The Perspective article Extracellular vesicles in longEVity medicines discussed the growing interest in extracellular vesicles as next-generation therapeutic tools and their potential applications in longevity-focused medicine.
Similarly, Organic-based nanoparticles for theranostic uses reviewed emerging nanoparticle systems capable of combining diagnosis and therapy within a single platform, an area that continues to attract significant attention across nanomedicine.
Neurotechnology and Bioelectronics
One of the journal's most recent publications, Beyond electrical stimulation: toward neurotransmitter-mediated synaptic prostheses, offered a compelling look at the future of neural interfaces. Rather than focusing exclusively on electrical stimulation, the review explored approaches that more closely mimic natural neural communication through neurotransmitter delivery.
The paper reflects the increasingly multidisciplinary nature of biomedical materials research, where advances in neuroscience, engineering, chemistry, and materials science converge to create transformative healthcare technologies.
From Fundamental Materials to Clinical Applications
The journal has also published work with direct clinical relevance.
From research investigating the strengthening of porcelain laminate veneers using preheated resin-based composites, to reviews examining the safety and effectiveness of PEEK cages for spinal fusion procedures, these studies demonstrate the broad applicability of biomaterials research across diverse medical specialties.
Looking Ahead
Our first year has reinforced what we already suspected: biomedical materials science is a vibrant and rapidly evolving field driven by collaboration across disciplines.
As we move into our second year, we are excited to continue expanding our editorial board, launching new article collections, and publishing cutting-edge research in biomaterials, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, nanotechnology, bioelectronics, artificial intelligence, robotics, and beyond.
Most importantly, we remain committed to supporting researchers whose work has the potential to translate innovative materials into real-world healthcare solutions.
Thank You
Launching a journal is a collective effort, and we would like to extend our sincere thanks to our Editorial Board, reviewers, authors, and readers for their support during this first year.
We are incredibly proud of what the community has helped us build so far, and we look forward to seeing what the next year brings for Biomedical Materials Science.
Happy first birthday, Biomedical Materials Science! 🎉