Hydrogen sulfide combined with biomaterials for wound healing: a bibliometric analysis

JOURNAL/mgres/04.03/01612956-202701000-00008/figure1/v/2026-11-03T121139Z/r/image-tiff

Hydrogen sulfide (H ₂ S) is an extensively multifunctional gasotransmitter that plays a critical role in wound healing. Due to advances in biomaterials science, H ₂ S can be incorporated into biomaterial platforms for wound healing applications. However, research in this field remains fragmented, and a systematic analysis of publication trends, collaboration networks, and thematic evolution is still lacking. In our study, we used a bibliometric approach to investigate the development and evolution of this field. A total of 116 publications from 2005 to March 31, 2026 were collected and analyzed using VOSviewer software and the Bibliometrix R package. Our findings showed that (1) the first relevant publication appeared in 2015; the number of annual publications was low at the beginning and increased gradually, with a clear acceleration after 2022; (2) China was the leading country in terms of publication output, followed by the United States, and the most productive institutions were Wenzhou Medical University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University; and (3) keyword analysis showed that “hydrogen sulfide,” “wound healing,” and “hydrogel” were the core research themes; current research hotspots include “anti-inflammatory,” “antibacterial,” “pH responsive,” “angiogenesis,” and “multimodal therapy,” while “bacterial ferroptosis” has emerged as a frontier topic. Overall, H ₂ S in combination with biomaterials constitutes a rapidly developing interdisciplinary area of research. Further investigations should focus on emerging mechanisms such as bacterial ferroptosis, the development of intelligent multi-responsive biomaterials, and multimodal therapies that involve H ₂ S together with other therapeutic modalities to facilitate the translation of laboratory findings into clinical applications.