A new forum for agenda-setting research with global visibility

Led by Hiroaki Suga (University of Tokyo), RSC Chemical Biology is a gold open access journal, dedicated to publishing exceptionally significant and breakthrough findings of interest to the chemical biology community.

As a gold open access journal, there are no barriers to accessing content. Your research reaches an international audience, and with article processing charges waived until mid-2022, it’s completely free to publish.

“I’m very excited to take on the role of Chair of the Editorial Board of RSC Chemical Biology which will be launched in 2020. This new journal will publish important research sparked at the interface of chemistry and biology. I’d encourage colleagues to submit their high quality work from basic to translational research to RSC Chemical Biology.”

Hiroaki Suga, Editorial Board Chair, RSC Chemical Biology.

Cutting-edge

At the forefront of agenda-setting research in chemical biology, with an innovative, transparent peer review process

Visible

A gold open access journal, giving your work maximum visibility and reaching a global readership. APCs are waived until mid-2022

Trusted

Led by an editorial board of leading scientists, and published by a society committed to the wide dissemination of quality knowledge 

Scope

RSC Chemical Biology is a gold open access journal dedicated to publishing and disseminating the most exceptionally significant, breakthrough research and high quality Reviews at the interface of chemistry and biology. All published articles must be of significant general interest to the broad chemical biology community.

We welcome contributions from across the breadth of chemical biology, from the development of new chemical and biological techniques and tools, to studies furthering the understanding and/or manipulation of biological processes at the molecular level. We also encourage translational research that bridges chemistry and chemical biology to medicine.

Editorial process

RSC Chemical Biology strives for a rigorous, fair and rapid peer review procedure. Peer review is handled by a team of internationally recognised associate editors, all practising scientists in the field. On submission to the journal, manuscripts undergo an initial assessment by a team of professional editors to ensure they meet essential criteria for publication in the journal; those manuscripts which are successful in this review are passed to an associate editor for further consideration. Full details of the initial assessment procedure can be found with our processes and policies.

In the interest of transparency and open science, RSC Chemical Biology is the first Royal Society of Chemistry journal to offer our authors the option of transparent peer review, where the editor’s decision letter, reviewers’ comments and authors’ response for all versions of the manuscript will be published alongside the article under an Open Access Creative Commons licence (CC-BY). Authors will be asked if they would like to take up this option at the revision stages. Reviewer comments will remain anonymous unless the individual chooses to sign their report.

For more information, please contact us.

Article types

RSC Chemical Biology publishes:

  • Communications
  • Full papers
  • Review
  • Opinions
  • Comments

 

See more information about these article types

Article types

Communications

A complete study or preliminary report of exceptionally high quality and significance, whose interest to the chemical biology community warrants rapid publication. Authors should supply with their submission a justification of why the work merits urgent publication as a Communication; reviewers will be asked to judge the work on these grounds.


Communications are prioritised for rapid publication and are highly visible as they are published at the front of an issue. Although there is no page limit for a Communication, they will not normally exceed the length of four printed journal pages. Authors are encouraged to provide a succinct and relevant introduction to the research and to consider the use of the electronic supplementary information for additional material.


Full papers

Full accounts of original research of exceptionally high quality and significance, appealing to the broad chemical biology community. Authors are encouraged to emphasise the importance and potential impact of the research presented. There are no restrictions on the length of a full Paper.


Reviews

Reviews published in RSC Chemical Biology must be very high quality, authoritative, state-of-the-art accounts of the selected research field. Reviews are typically invited by the RSC Chemical Biology Editorial Board and Editorial Office, although suggestions from readers of potential topics and authors are very welcome and should be directed to the editor. 


Reviews may be shorter summaries highlighting important recent developments, or more detailed, balanced accounts, of the selected research field. Reviews should be timely and provide new insight to the existing literature as well as being of general interest to the chemical biology community. They should focus on key developments, rather than be comprehensive reviews of the literature, and can provide perspectives of the future development in the field.

Authors are encouraged to identify areas in the field where further developments are imminent or of urgent need, and of significance to the community in general. All Reviews undergo a rigorous and full peer review procedure, in the same way as full Papers.


Opinion

Opinions are short, personal viewpoints on a topic of current interest to the community. They can be speculative in nature, and provided that they are not defamatory to the work of others, can be controversial and stimulate counter-opinion. They should contain rigorous, evidence-backed scientific justification, and bring significant and valuable insights to the field.

Opinions are typically three to four pages in length and are normally published by invitation of the RSC Chemical Biology Editorial Board or Editorial Office. Opinions undergo a rigorous and full peer review procedure, in the same way as Full Papers.


Comments/Replies

Comments and Replies are a medium for the discussion and exchange of scientific opinions between authors and readers concerning material published in RSC Chemical Biology.

For publication, a Comment should present an alternative analysis of and/or new insight into the previously published material. Any Reply should further the discussion presented in the original article and the Comment. Comments and Replies that contain any form of personal attack are not suitable for publication.

Comments that are acceptable for publication will be forwarded to the authors of the work being discussed, and these authors will be given the opportunity to submit a Reply. The Comment and Reply will both be subject to rigorous peer review in consultation with the journal’s Editorial Board where appropriate. The Comment and Reply will be published together.

 

Sign up for free e-alerts

Complete the form below to receive the latest updates from RSC Chemical Biology.

Terms and conditions

Please tick this box to acknowledge that:

  • You have read, understood and accept the terms and conditions.
  • We need to collect and manage your personal data in order to provide this service. Our privacy statement explains how we do this.

Journals, books & databases

For pre-submission queries please contact Katie Lim, Executive Editor
Email:
send us an email

Share