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Lab on a Chip is a Transformative Journal and Plan S compliant
Impact factor: 6.1*
Time to first decision (all decisions): 31.0 days**
Time to first decision (peer reviewed only): 39.0 days***
Editor-in-Chief: Aaron Wheeler
Indexed in MEDLINE
Open access publishing options available
Read and publish in our thematic collections
Miniaturised sensors and diagnostics. Thought leaders: Yoon Kyoung Cho (UNIST) and Xingu Jiang (SUSTech).
AI in Microfluidics. Thought leaders: Keisuke Goda (University of Tokyo), Hang Lu (Georgia Tech), Peng Fei (HUST), Jochen Guck (Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light).
Journal scope
Lab on a Chip provides a unique forum for the publication of significant and original work related to miniaturisation, at the micro- and nano-scale, of interest to a multidisciplinary readership. The journal seeks to publish work at the interface between physical technological advancements and high impact applications that are of direct interest to a broad audience.
The most important factor used to assess manuscripts that are submitted to Lab on a Chip is novelty. Papers should demonstrate novelty in both: (i) the device physics, engineering, and materials; and (ii) applications in biology, chemistry, medicine. Submissions that describe novelty in both device and application are most likely to be published. Outstanding papers featuring novelty in either the device or the application may also be published.
All manuscripts should be written such that they are accessible to scientists in all disciplines associated with the following subjects, across both academic and industrial sectors.
Novel micro- and nano-technologies and fundamental principles
- Micro- and nano-fabrication (including 3D printing, thin films)
- Micro- and nano-fluidics (in continuous and segmented multiphase flow, droplet microfluidics, new liquids)
- Micro- and nano-systems (sensor, actuator, reaction)
- Micro- and nano-separation technologies (molecular and cellular sorting)
- Micro- and nano-total analysis system (µTAS, nTAS)
- Digital microfluidics
- Sample preparation
- Imaging and detection
Significant biological, chemical, medical, environmental and energy applications
- Nucleic acid biotechnology and analysis (DNA and RNA sequencing, genotyping, gene manipulation)
- Protein analysis (proteomics and metabolomics for targeted and global analysis)
- Medical diagnostics (for example point of care and molecular)
- Medical devices and treatments (including implantable and wireless)
- Drug development (screening and delivery)
- Cells, tissues, organs on chip and integrated tissue engineering
- 3D cell culture
- Single cell analysis
- Cell and organism motility and interactions
- Systems and synthetic biology and medicine
- Energy, biofuels, fuel extraction
- Environmental and food monitoring for health and security
Lab on a Chip and Dolomite Pioneers of Miniaturization Lectureship
This lectureship recognises early to mid-career scientists, within 15 years of their PhD, who have made outstanding contributions to the understanding or development of miniaturised systems.
You can read about eligibility, how to nominate, see deadlines and view all of the award winners.
Find out moreSee who's on the team
Meet Lab on a Chip journal's Editor-in-Chief and board members.
Editor-in-chief
Aaron Wheeler, University of Toronto, Canada
Associate editors
Jean-Christophe Baret, University of Bordeaux, France
Yoon-Kyoung Cho, UNIST, South Korea
Amy Herr, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Xingyu Jiang, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
Séverine Le Gac, University of Twente, the Netherlands
Hang Lu, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Manabu Tokeshi, Hokkaido University, Japan
Hongkai Wu, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, China
Esther Amstad, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
Yoshinobu Baba, Nagoya University, Japan
Holger Becker, Microfluidic ChipShop GmbH, Germany
Anja Boisen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
Oscar Ces, Imperial College London, UK
Dino Di Carlo, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Stephanie Descroix, Institut Curie, France
Petra Dittrich, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Xudong Fan, University of Michigan, USA
Qun Fang, Zhejiang University, China
Albert Folch, University of Washington, USA
Piotr Garstecki, Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
Martin A. M. Gijs, EPFL, Switzerland
Mark Gilligan, Dolomite, UK
Keisuke Goda, University of Tokyo, Japan
Mei He, University of Florida, USA
Tony Jun Huang, Duke University, USA
Yanyi Huang, Peking University, China
Daniel Irimia, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA
David Issadore, University of Pennsylvania, USA
Nooli Jeon, Seoul National University, South Korea
Michelle Khine, University of California, Irvine, USA
Sunghoon Kwon, Seoul National University, South Korea
Wilbur Lam, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, USA
Abraham Lee, University of California, Irvine, USA
Gwo-Bin Lee, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan
Weihua Li, University of Wollongong, Australia
Xiujun Li, University of Texas at El Paso, USA
Chwee Teck Lim, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Ai Qun Liu, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China
Adrian Neild, Monash University, Australia
Nam-Trung Nguyen, Griffith University, Australia
Nicole Pamme, Stockholm University, Sweden
Ian Papautsky, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
Jianhua Qin, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, China
Sámuel Sánchez, Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia, Spain
Anderson Shum, University of Hong Kong, China
David Sinton, University of Toronto, Canada
Shoji Takeuchi, University of Tokyo, Japan
Sindy Tang, Stanford University, USA
Yi-Chin Toh, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Albert van den Berg, University of Twente, The Netherlands
Joel Voldman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Jeff Tza-Huei Wang, Johns Hopkins University, USA
David Weitz, Harvard University, USA
George Whitesides, Harvard University, USA
Chaoyong James Yang, Xiamen University, China
Po Ki Yuen, Corning Incorporated, New York, USA
Roland Zengerle, Hahn-Schickard, Germany
Weian Zhao, University of California, Irvine, USA
Rebecca Garton, Executive Editor
Alice Smallwood, Deputy Editor
Celeste Brady, Development Editor
David Lake, Development Editor
Sarah Whitehouse, Editorial Production Manager
Gabriel Clarke, Publishing Editor
Derya Kara-Fisher, Publishing Editor
Emma Stephen, Publishing Editor
Ziva Whitelock, Publishing Editor
Leo Curtis, Editorial Assistant
Andrea Whiteside, Publishing Assistant
Jeanne Andres, Publisher
Karen Cheung, University of British Columbia, Canada
Petra Dittrich, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Rosanne Guijt, Deakin University, Australia
Joo Hun Kang, Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology, Republic of Korea
Darwin Reyes, National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA
Tiina Sikanen, University of Helsinki, Finland
Jianhua Qin, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, China
Joel Voldman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Jeff Tza-Huei Wang, Johns Hopkins University, USA
Open access publishing options
Lab on a Chip is a hybrid (transformative) journal and gives authors the choice of publishing their research either via the traditional subscription-based model or instead by choosing our gold open access option. Find out more about our Transformative Journals. which are Plan S compliant.
Gold open access
For authors who want to publish their article gold open access, Lab on a Chip charges an article processing charge (APC) of £2,500 (+ any applicable tax). Our APC is all-inclusive and makes your article freely available online immediately, permanently, and includes your choice of Creative Commons licence (CC BY or CC BY-NC) at no extra cost. It is not a submission charge, so you only pay if your article is accepted for publication.
Learn more about publishing open access.
Read & Publish
If your institution has a Read & Publish agreement in place with the Royal Society of Chemistry, APCs for gold open access publishing in Lab on a Chip may already be covered.
Check if your institution is already part of our Read & Publish community.
Please use your official institutional email address to submit your manuscript; this helps us to identify if you are eligible for Read & Publish or other APC discounts.
Traditional subscription model
Authors can also publish in Lab on a Chip via the traditional subscription model without needing to pay an APC. Articles published via this route are available to institutions and individuals who subscribe to the journal. Our standard licence allows you to make the accepted manuscript of your article freely available after a 12-month embargo period. This is known as the green route to open access.
Readership information
Lab on a Chip coverage is highly relevant to a variety of industrial and academic sectors, including the following.
- Pharmaceuticals
- Medicine
- Analytical science
- Synthetic chemistry
- Biotechnology
- Physics
- Materials science
- (Bio)engineering
- Electronics
µTAS abstracts
Lab on a Chip hosts µTAS abstracts, providing free access to current and archived content submitted to µTAS conferences. These abstracts will provide researchers with access to essential information; supporting current and future research on miniaturized systems for chemistry and life sciences.
Subscription information
Lab on a Chip is part of the RSC Gold subscription package.
Online only 2024: ISSN 1473-0189, £1,689 / $3,033
*2022 Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate Analytics, 2023)
**The median time from submission to first decision including manuscripts rejected without peer review from the previous calendar year
***The median time from submission to first decision for peer-reviewed manuscripts from the previous calendar year
Contact us
- Email:
- Rebecca Garton
- Email:
- Sarah Whitehouse
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