Trends in noninvasive ocular nanoparticle drug delivery: A bibliometric analysis (2004–2023)

Abstract

This study presents a bibliometric analysis of research on noninvasive nanoparticle drug delivery systems for the transocular surface from 2004 to 2023. Relevant publications were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to map contributions by countries/regions, authors, institutions, journals, keywords, keyword clusters, and timeline trends. A total of 695 articles were analyzed, showing a steady year-by-year increase in publications. China, the United States, and Spain were the leading contributors. Among authors, Alvarez-Lorenzo, Carmen was the most prolific, while Chanhan, Anuj's work received the most citations among the top 10 prolific researchers. The International Journal of Pharmaceutics published the highest number of articles in this field, whereas the Journal of Controlled Release was the most frequently cited among the top 10 most productive journals. The University of Santiago de Compostela and the University of Florida were among the most active institutions in this research area. Keyword analysis identified recent key themes such as controlled release, cell interaction, dry eye, mechanisms, gene expression, and ocular drug delivery. The growing interest in transocular surface nanoparticle drugs is driven by their advantages, including increased solubility, improved stability, reduced administration frequency, sustained therapeutic concentrations, enhanced corneal penetration, and prolonged ocular surface residence time.