Yilin Meng,1,* Lu Sui,1,* Tianhua Xu,1,* Hainan Zhao,2 Quan Yuan,3 Li Sun1 

1Department of Nephrology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou 121001, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Orthopedics, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110004, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Li Sun, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Nanjing North Street 155#, Heping District, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110001, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-13940593292, Email sunlicmu1974@163.com Quan Yuan, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Sanhao Street 36#, Heping District, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110004, People’s Republic of China, Email wateryuan231@163.com

Abstract: Kidney disease is a major public health concern that has a significant effect on a patient’s life span and quality of life. However, effective treatment for most kidney diseases is lacking. Nanotechnology mainly explores the design, characterization, production, and applications of objects in the nanoscale range and has been widely used in the medical field. To date, there has been an increasing amount of research on the application of nanotechnology in kidney disease. However, systematic bibliometric studies remain rare. In this review, data collected from the Web of Science Core Collection database until December 31, 2024, were subjected to a bibliometric analysis. A total of 1179 articles and reviews were included. The publication trends, countries, institutions, authors, co-authorship, co-citations, journals, keywords, and references pertaining to this topic were examined. The results showed that nanotechnology research in kidney disease is increasing. The leading country, organization, and author were China, Sichuan University, and Professor Peng Huang, respectively. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES was the top journal among the 464 journals in which articles on nanotechnology in kidney disease were published. KIDNEY INTERNATIONAL was the most cited journal in the field. The most significant increases were shown for “acute kidney disease”, “drug delivery”, “oxidative stress”, “diabetic nephropathy”, and “chronic kidney disease”, indicating the current research hotspots. Furthermore, the development prospects and challenges of nanotechnology in kidney disease were discussed in this review. How to achieve precise drug delivery to render kidney-targeting therapy a reality may be problematic in future studies.

Keywords: nanomedicine, kidney disease, bibliometric analysis, drug delivery, diagnosis, therapy