Mapping of Global Research Performance on Molecular Docking: A Bibliometric Study

Abstract

The paper examines the global scientific literature on Molecular Docking (MD). MD is a key approach used in bioinformatics to identify and develop novel compounds towards drug discovery. This study uses the bibliometric method to analyze scientific data covered in the Scopus database from 2013 to 2022 using MS Excel, R Studio, and VOS Viewer software. A total of 12173 documents on Molecular Docking were retrieved and considered for the study. The paper provides an in-depth evaluation of the research output of MD. The research found that Muthu S. was a most prolific author in MD scientific research, with 98 publications that received 1481 global citations. The most productive countries in this field are India (4020 publications), followed by China (2675 publications), Saudi Arabia (1362 publications) and Egypt (1071 publications). The hot keywords in MD research are molecular modelling, molecular docking simulation, unclassified drug and controlled study, but Molecular Docking is the burning author keyword. The finding also shows that the publications are increasing consistently from 2013 onwards. Most articles have been published in the 'Journal of Molecular Structure'. As it is an emerging and a trending topic, it has scope for further studies. This study will benefit future researchers and practitioners worldwide in understanding the research pattern on MD and identifying the other key areas related to the topic.