Biomaterials 'Under Review': What Each Status Means and When to Expect a Decision

Biomaterials operates the Elsevier handling editor + associate editor model. The senior handling editor reads the entire paper and evaluates biomaterials-significance, biomedical relevance, methodological rigor, and Biomaterials subspecialty routing across tissue engineering, drug delivery, regenerative medicine, biocompatibility, and bioactive materials. A handling editor at Biomaterials typically handles 40 to 60 manuscripts per quarter and spends 30 to 90 minutes on the initial read; Biomaterials handling editors are active biomaterials researchers fitting Biomaterials editorial work around their own laboratories.

Biomaterials editorial culture is decisive: 40 to 50 percent of submissions are desk-rejected within 1 to 3 weeks. Papers that pass the Biomaterials editor desk screen have cleared the steepest filter in biomaterials publishing.

Before the paper reaches external reviewers, a Biomaterials handling editor evaluates whether the biomaterials-significance and biomedical relevance warrant Biomaterials's selective editorial slots. About 40 to 50 percent of submissions are desk-rejected at this stage within 1 to 3 weeks. A desk rejection at the language/scope/originality screen most often means the paper needs English language improvements, is out of scope, or presents excessive duplication with published sources.

A desk rejection at the editor scope screen most often means the editor concluded that the work lacks biomaterials-significance, biomedical relevance, or would fit better at a sister Elsevier biomaterials journal (Acta Biomaterialia for materials-focused biomaterials, Biomaterials Advances for broader biomedical applications, Materials Today Bio for general biomaterials).

• Day 0 to 3, administrative processing: The Biomaterials editorial office confirms files are complete: manuscript with figures embedded, Supporting Information with characterization data (materials characterization plus biology validation: cell viability, in vivo data where applicable), Elsevier template formatting, ARRIVE compliance for animal work, IRB documentation for human-subjects work, cover letter directed to the editor, conflict-of-interest declarations, ethics-statement documentation, and data-availability statement.

• Days 1 to 7, technical check (language, scope, originality): This is where incomplete upload packages, missing ethics material, absent competing-interest statements, figure problems, and originality concerns are most likely to stop progress before the handling editor spends time on scientific fit. For biomaterials papers, this also means the submission package must make the material-biology evidence visible, not buried in disconnected supplementary files.

• Days 3 to 21, handling editor desk screen: The handling editor reads the paper and evaluates biomaterials-significance (does the work matter for biomaterials research), biomedical relevance (does the application context fit a biomedical need), methodological rigor (both materials characterization and biology validation), and Biomaterials subspecialty routing.

• Days 5 to 14, editorial team discussion (parallel for ambiguous cases): In parallel with the handling editor's primary read, ambiguous-fit papers are discussed across the Elsevier biomaterials editorial team where peer handling editors weigh in on whether the paper would fit better at Biomaterials flagship or at sister Elsevier biomaterials journals. This editorial-team discussion runs alongside the desk-screen and adds 3 to 5 days to the timeline that is invisible to the author in the portal.

• Days 14 to 28, external reviewer recruitment: Biomaterials handling editors typically invite a minimum of 2 reviewers (often more for complex biomedical studies), with reviewer recruitment typically taking 7 to 14 days. The recruitment window can take longer because reviewers with topic-matched biomaterials subspecialty expertise (especially across materials-biology interfaces, in vivo validation, and clinical-translation contexts) are scarce.

• Days 14 to 56, active peer review: Once reviewers agree to review, the typical Biomaterials peer-review cycle lasts 3 to 6 weeks per reviewer. Reviewers are asked to evaluate biomaterials-significance, biomedical relevance, methodological rigor (materials characterization plus biology validation), and reproducibility. Reviewer reports for Biomaterials tend to be thorough; 2000 to 4000 word reports are typical given the materials-biology interface complexity.

• Day 56 onward, editorial synthesis and decision: After reports return, the handling editor synthesizes them. Total submission-to-acceptance commonly runs 4 to 8 months for successful papers, including revision rounds.

• Rejection within 1 to 7 days: Technical check rejection (language, scope, originality) per Elsevier policy.

• Rejection within 7 to 21 days: Handling editor desk rejection per the 40 to 50 percent figure.

• Still Under Review after 3 weeks: Strong signal. Paper passed the Biomaterials editor filter.

• Still Under Review after 10 weeks: Reviewer-recruitment or reviewer-report delay. A polite inquiry via the Editorial Manager portal is appropriate.

• Status changes to "Decision in Process": Reports are in; expect a decision within 2 to 3 weeks.

This is the most common anxiety we hear from Biomaterials authors during the active editorial window. The honest answer: no, 6 weeks at Under Review puts you in the normal middle of Biomaterials's 4 to 8 week full peer-review distribution. Reports may already be in editorial synthesis with the handling editor preparing the recommendation.

Most reviewer-driven delays come from reviewer-recruitment timing for biomaterials subspecialty experts rather than slow reviews because Biomaterials recruits topic-matched reviewers across materials-biology interfaces (which is a scarce reviewer pool). If the portal still says Under Review at the 10-week mark, the most likely explanation is that one of the assigned reviewers asked for an extension and the handling editor granted it.

This is normal practice at Biomaterials.

What you should NOT do during the 6-to-10-week window is email the editorial office. Biomaterials handling editors are managing 40+ active papers; an inquiry at 6 weeks adds friction without accelerating the timeline.

• Do not email the editorial office during the first 6 weeks unless an urgent ethics issue surfaces.

• Do not submit the paper anywhere else while it is Under Review at Biomaterials. Elsevier has explicit prohibitions on dual submission.

• Prepare a point-by-point response template for likely reviewer concerns: biomaterials-significance, biomedical relevance, materials characterization adequacy, biology validation adequacy (cell viability, in vivo data where applicable), reproducibility.

• If you have related work submitted elsewhere or recently published, prepare disclosure language for when revisions are requested.

• Read recent Biomaterials papers in your subfield to calibrate the current editorial bar.

If your Biomaterials paper is rejected after review, the natural cascade depends on what the reviewers and editor cited:

Acta Biomaterialia is the natural Elsevier cascade for materials-focused biomaterials papers where the biomaterials priority bar of Biomaterials flagship is not met but the materials rigor is high. Elsevier supports manuscript-transfer with reviewer reports preserved.

Biomaterials Advances is the Elsevier cascade for broader biomedical applications biomaterials papers.

Materials Today Bio is the Elsevier cascade for general biomaterials papers.

Advanced Healthcare Materials is the external Wiley biomedical materials cascade. Wiley uses Editorial Manager at Editorial Manager submission portal; editorial contact ahm@wiley.com.

ACS Applied Bio Materials is the external ACS cascade for biomedical applied materials. ACS uses ACS Paragon Plus at ACS journal page; editorial contact abm@acs.org.

Cell Biomaterials is the external Cell Press cascade for top-tier biomaterials. Cell Press uses Editorial Manager at Editorial Manager submission portal; editorial contact cellbiomaterials@cell.com.

Elsevier asks reviewers at Biomaterials to evaluate four things specifically. The table below maps each to actionable preparation.

Across Biomaterials manuscripts, we have reviewed 50+ manuscripts targeting biomaterials, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, drug delivery, implantable materials, and materials-biology interface journals. In our pre-submission review work across biomaterials-adjacent venues, the strongest predictor of a clean reviewed path was not the novelty claim alone. It was whether the manuscript connected material design, biological response, and translational relevance in the figures, methods, and cover letter before the editor had to infer that connection.

Biomaterials material-biology disconnect in the figures. In our pre-submission review work, we see a repeated pattern in which the manuscript has strong synthesis data, surface characterization, and mechanical testing, but the figure sequence treats biological response as a late add-on. For Biomaterials, that is risky because the journal is not only asking whether the material is technically interesting. Reviewers want to see whether the material changes a therapeutic, diagnostic, tissue, drug-delivery, or host-response problem.

The fix is usually structural: make Figure 1 state the biomedical problem, put the material design logic beside the biological endpoint, and make the methods show that the comparator material is credible.

Check whether your Biomaterials material-biology bridge is visible →

Biomaterials validation stack too narrow for the claim. A second pattern is a manuscript that makes a strong therapeutic or implantable-material claim but relies on one cell line, one dose, one time point, or one surface condition.

The page status may still move to Under Review because the editor sees possible fit, but reviewer comments then cluster around missing dose response, missing host-response evidence, missing degradation or release kinetics, weak in vivo justification, or insufficient supplementary characterization. A stronger Biomaterials submission makes the validation ladder explicit in the manuscript rather than promising that the missing evidence can be added later.

Check if your Biomaterials validation stack is reviewer-ready →

Biomaterials cascade decision hidden in the reviewer comments. A third pattern is a paper that is scientifically solid but reads more like Acta Biomaterialia, Biomaterials Advances, or Materials Today Bio. Authors often focus only on the rejection language and miss the routing signal. When reviewer comments praise characterization but question broad biomedical significance, the best next move may be a rapid cascade with a revised cover letter and sharpened journal fit, not a long appeal.

Source limitation: our observations come from Manusights pre-submission and revision-support work, not from private Biomaterials editorial records. We do not train on private author files, and Manusights offers a 60-day money-back guarantee for eligible review orders when the service does not meet the stated scope.

Check your Biomaterials cascade response plan →

This page was created from Elsevier's public Biomaterials guide for authors at ScienceDirect author instructions, Elsevier Editorial Manager documentation (language/scope/originality technical check, ~40 to 50 percent desk-rejection rate inferred from comparable Elsevier biomaterials journals, minimum 2 reviewers per submission, 4 to 8 week peer-review window), SciRev community-reported transit data on Biomaterials, and Manusights pre-submission review experience with Biomaterials-targeted manuscripts.

For the biomaterials landscape beyond Biomaterials flagship, see Acta Biomaterialia (materials-focused biomaterials), Biomaterials Advances (broader biomedical applications), Materials Today Bio (general biomaterials), Advanced Healthcare Materials (Wiley biomedical functional materials), ACS Applied Bio Materials (ACS biomedical applied materials), and Cell Biomaterials (Cell Press top-tier biomaterials).

The choice across these titles depends on whether the central contribution is top-tier biomaterials + biomedical relevance (Biomaterials), materials-focused biomaterials (Acta Biomaterialia), broader biomedical applications (Biomaterials Advances), general biomaterials (Materials Today Bio), Wiley biomedical functional materials (Advanced Healthcare Materials), ACS biomedical applied materials (ACS Applied Bio Materials), or top-tier biomaterials with Cell Press editorial (Cell Biomaterials).

For the Acta-family route specifically, use the Acta Biomaterialia Submission Guide before deciding whether the paper belongs in Acta Biomaterialia rather than Biomaterials.

Reviewers at Biomaterials typically draw from one materials specialist and one biology/biomedical specialist (matched to the materials-biology interface). Editors screen and triage manuscripts before any reviewer sees them, and preparing a response template that addresses both materials and biology reviewer perspectives accelerates revision rounds substantially.

For a pre-upload check of your manuscript against the Biomaterials biomaterials-significance-plus-biology-validation bar before submission, our Biomaterials pre-submission diagnostic flags the framing and validation weaknesses most likely to surface in reviewer reports.