Analytical Technologies in the Biomedical and Life Sciences
Guide for Authors
Guide for Authors
Editorial Office Journal of Chromatography B
P.O. Box 681, 1000 AR Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Radarweg
29, 1043 NX Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Tel: +31 20 485 2832
Fax: +31 20 485 2304
e-mail: chromb@elsevier.com
Journal's E-submission site: http://ees.elsevier.com/chromb/
* Scope
The Journal of Chromatography
B publishes papers on developments in separation science relevant to biology and biomedical research including both fundamental advances
and applications.
Analytical techniques which may be considered include the various facets of chromatography, electrophoresis and
related methods, affinity and immunoaffinity-based methodologies, hyphenated and other multi-dimensional techniques, and microanalytical
approaches. The journal also considers articles reporting developments in sample preparation, detection techniques including mass spectrometry,
and data handling and analysis.
Developments related to preparative separations for the isolation and purification of components
of biological systems may be published, including chromatographic and electrophoretic methods, affinity separations, field flow fractionation
and other preparative approaches.
Applications to the analysis of biological systems and samples will be considered when the analytical
science contains a significant element of novelty, e.g. a new approach to the separation of a compound, novel combination of analytical
techniques, or significantly improved analytical performance. Areas to be considered include: • the qualitative and quantitative
analysis of biopolymers including proteins, peptides and their post-translational modifications as well as nucleic acids and glycans • the comparative analysis of biological systems using proteomics, genomics, metabonomics and other "omics" approaches
• clinical analysis, pharmacokinetics, metabolism, therapeutic drug monitoring, toxicological analysis, doping analysis, veterinary
applications, analysis of environmental contaminants in biological systems • the screening and profiling of body fluids, tissues,
cells, biological matrices and systems, analysis of endogenous compounds, biomarkers • identification of new bioactive compounds
Applications which utilize published or commercial analytical or preparative protocols with little or no modification or where the
results of the application rather than the analytical methodology comprise the major element of novelty of the manuscript should be directed
to more specialized journals. Modifications to a previously published method may be considered for a short communication in cases where
the improvement in performance is significant. Reports of analytical methods for compounds in early pharmaceutical development often
lack general interest and will not be published unless the authors can demonstrate the broader significance of the methodology involved.
Quality control analyses of bulk drugs, natural products or pharmaceutical formulations are not within scope.
* Types of contributions
The following types of papers are published in the Journal of Chromatography B: Regular research papers (full-length papers), Review
articles, Short Communications, Discussions, and Letters to the Editor. Review articles are invited or proposed in writing to the Editors,
who welcome suggestions for subjects. An outline of the proposed Review should first be forwarded to the Editors for preliminary discussion
prior to preparation. Short Communications are usually descriptions of short investigations, or they can report technical improvements
of previously published procedures: they reflect the same quality of research as full-length papers, but should preferably not exceed
five printed pages (typically no more than 2850 words, with no more than five figures and tables combined).
Discussions (one or two
pages) should explain, amplify, correct or otherwise comment substantively upon an article recently published in the journal. Submission
of an article is understood to imply that the article is original and unpublished and is not being considered for publication elsewhere.
Upon acceptance of an article by the journal, the author(s) will be asked to transfer the copyright of the article to the Publisher.
This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information.
* Submission of articles General
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or
as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication
is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted,
it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher.
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to transfer copyright (for more information on copyright see http://www.elsevier.com/authors.).
This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. A letter will be sent to the corresponding Author confirming
receipt of the manuscript. A form facilitating transfer of copyright will be provided. If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included,
the Author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Requests to reproduce
Elsevier material may be completed on-line via the Elsevier homepage (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissions).
Submission
to the journal
Submission of both regular and special issue articles to this journal proceeds totally on-line via the
journal's submission website http://ees.elsevier.com/chromb. At the submission website you will be guided stepwise through the creation
and uploading of the various files. Once the uploading is done, our system automatically generates an electronic (PDF) proof, which is
then used for reviewing. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revisions, will be by e-mail.
If you are unable to provide an electronic version, please contact the editorial office prior to submission at e-mail: chromb@elsevier.com;
telephone: +31 20 485 2832; or fax: +31 20 485 2304.
Every paper must be accompanied by a letter from the senior author, stating
that he/she is submitting the paper for publication in the Journal of Chromatography B. In the letter, possible reviewers may be suggested.
Authors are strongly encouraged to provide the names and full addresses of three potential referees with their submission. The referees
should represent at least two regions of the world.
Electronic format requirements
We accept most wordprocessing
formats, but Word, WordPerfect or LaTeX is preferred. Always keep a backup copy of the electronic file for reference and safety. Save
your files using the default extension of the program used.
* Manuscript preparation
Please write your text
in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). The text should be in single-column format. Keep
the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. In particular,
do not use the wordprocessor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts
etc. Do not embed "graphically designed" equations or tables, but prepare these using the wordprocessor's facility. When preparing
tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use
tabs, not spaces, to align columns. Do not import the figures into the text file but, instead, indicate their approximate locations directly
in the electronic text and on the manuscript. See also the section on Preparation of electronic illustrations.
Language Editing:
International Science Editing and Asia Science Editing can provide English language and copyediting services to authors who want
to publish in scientific, technical and medical journals and need assistance before they submit their article or, before it
is accepted for publication. Authors can contact these services directly: International Science Editing and Asia Science Editing
or, for more information about language editing services, please contact authorsupport@elsevier.com who will be happy
to deal with any questions. Please note: Elsevier neither endorses nor takes responsibility for any products, goods or services
offered by outside vendors through our services or in any advertising.
Manuscripts should be prepared with wide margins and double
spacing throughout, i.e. also for abstracts, footnotes and references. Every page of the manuscript, including the title page, references,
tables, etc. should be numbered. However, in the text no reference should be made to page numbers; if necessary, one may refer to sections.
Underline words that should be in italics, and do not underline any other words. Avoid excessive use of italics to emphasize part of
the text. Please note that line numbers are automatically added to the submission when the pdf is created. Therefore, please make sure
to upload all source files without line numbering.
As a rule, papers should be divided into sections, headed by captions (e.g.
Abstract, Introduction, Experimental, Results/Discussion and Conclusion).
Title
The title of the paper should be concise
and informative. Since titles are widely used in information retrieval systems, care should be taken to include the key words. The title
should be followed by the authors' full names, academic or professional affiliations, and the address of the laboratory where the
work was carried out. If the present address of an author is different from that mentioned, it should be given in a footnote. Acknowledgements
of financial support are not to be made in a footnote to the title or name of the author, but should be included in the Acknowledgements
at the end of the paper.
Abstract
All articles should have an Abstract of 50-100 words which clearly and briefly indicates
what is new, different and significant. No references should be given.
Introduction
Every paper must have a concise
introduction that mentions what has been done before on the topic, with appropriate references, and that states clearly what is new in
the paper now submitted.
Experimental
The Experimental section should contain sufficient information for others to
repeat the experiments. Whereas general conditions can usually best be specified in the Experimental section, it is often better to give
specific details in the figure captions. Appendix 1 lists what should typically be specified.
Tables and illustrations
Although appropriate tables and illustrations contribute to a clear and concise presentation of results, they should not merely repeat
data already given in the text. References to the illustrations and tables should be included in appropriate places in the text by Arabic
numerals. Tables should be uploaded separately, and numbered according to their sequence in the text. A brief descriptive heading should
be given with each table. Below the heading the experimental conditions should be described. The layout of the tables should be given
serious thought, so that the reader can grasp quickly the significance of the results. Figures and photographs should also be uploaded
separately in a form suitable for reproduction. A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website: http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given below.
Formats
Regardless of
the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalised, please ''save as'' or convert the images to one of the following formats
(Note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below.): • EPS: Vector
drawings. Embed the font or save the text as "graphics". • TIFF: Colour or greyscale photographs (halftones): always
use a minimum of 300 dpi. • TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi. • TIFF: Combinations bitmapped
line/half-tone (colour or greyscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required. • DOC, XLS or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created
in any of these Microsoft Office applications please supply "as is".
Please do not: • Supply embedded graphics in
your wordprocessor (spreadsheet, presentation) document; • Supply files that are optimised for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT,
WPG); the resolution is too low; • Supply files that are too low in resolution; • Submit graphics that are disproportionately
large for the content.
All axes of graphs and chromatograms should be clearly labelled, with full quantitative data, equivalent information
should be provided in the legend. Please note that any lettering should also be in a form suitable for reproduction. Lettering (which
should be kept to a minimum) and spacing on axes of graphs should be such that numbers, etc., remain legible after reduction in size.
The figures should preferably be of such a size that the same degree of reduction can be applied to all of them. The size of the figures
should preferably not exceed the size of the text pages. Simple straight-line graphs (such as calibration lines) are not acceptable,
because they can readily be described in the text by means of an equation or a sentence. Claims of linearity should be supported by regression
data that include slope, intercept, standard deviations of the slope and intercept, standard error and the number of data points; correlation
coefficients are optional. Standard symbols should be used in line drawings; the following are available to the typesetters and can also
be used in the legends: filled or open squares, triangles, circles or diamonds, + or x.
Photographs should have good contrast and
intensity. Sharp, glossy photographs are required to obtain good half tones. References to the illustrations should be included in appropriate
places in the text by Arabic numerals and the approximate position of the illustration should be indicated in the margin of the manuscript.
Each illustration should have a caption, all the captions being typed (with double spacing) together on a separate sheet.
Free
colour pictures and other supplementary material on the WWW
Authors may now submit colour pictures and other supplementary
material along with their paper. If, together with the accepted article, usable colour figures are submitted then Elsevier will ensure,
at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in colour on the web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether
or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For colour reproduction in print, you will receive information
regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork,
please see http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions. The written permission of the author and publisher must be obtained
for the use of any figure already published. Its source must be indicated in the legend.
Nomenclature, symbols, abbreviations
and units
Widely accepted symbols, abbreviations and units (SI) should be used. If there is any doubt about a particular symbol
or abbreviation, the full expression followed by the abbreviation should be given the first time it appears in the text. Abbreviations
used in tables and figures should be explained in the captions. In general, the recommendations of the International Union of Pure and
Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) should be followed and attention should be given to the recommendations of the Analytical Chemistry Division
in the journal Pure and Applied Chemistry: Nomenclature for Chromatography, Pure Appl. Chem., 65 (1993) 819-872. Decimal points should
be indicated by full stops. All decimal numbers smaller than unity should include a leading zero (e.g. 0.11).
References
References should be numbered in the order in which they are cited in the text, and listed in numerical sequence on a separate sheet
at the end of the article. The numbers should appear in the text at the appropriate places in square brackets. In the reference list,
periodicals [1], monographs [2], multi-author books [3], and proceedings [4] should be cited in accordance with the following examples:
[1] S. Chellam, M.R. Wiesner, J. Membrane Sci. 138 (1998) 83.
[2] T.R. Bott. Fouling of Heat Exchangers. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1995.
[3] C.H. Foyer, in R.G. Alscher, J.L. Hess (Eds.), Antioxidants in Higher Plants. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1993, p. 31.
[4] A.
Veide, C. Hassinen, D. Hallen, M. Eiteman, B. Lassen, K. Holmbert, in R.D. Rogers, M.A. Eiteman (Eds.), Proceedings of the American Chemical
Society Symposium on Aqueous Biophasic Separation. Plenum Publishers, New York, NY, 1995, p. 133.
Abbreviations for the titles of
journals should follow the system used by Chemical Abstracts. Articles not yet published should be given as "in press" (journal
should be specified), "submitted for publication" (journal should be specified), "in preparation" or "personal
communication".
Vols. 1-651 of the Journal of Chromatography; Journal of Chromatography, Biomedical Applications and Journal
of Chromatography, Symposium Volumes should be cited as J. Chromatogr. From Vol. 652 on, Journal of Chromatography A (incl. Symposium
Volumes) should be cited as J. Chromatogr. A and Journal of Chromatography B as J. Chromatogr. B.
Use of the Digital Object Identifier
(DOI):
The digital object identifier (DOI) may be used to cite and link to electronic documents. The DOI consists of a unique alpha-numeric
character string which is assigned to a document by the publisher upon the initial electronic publication. The assigned DOI never changes.
Therefore, it is an ideal medium for citing a document, particularly 'Articles in press' because they have not yet received their full
bibliographic information.
The correct format for citing a DOI is shown as follows (example taken from a document in the journal Physics
Letters B):
doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2003.10.071
When you use the DOI to create URL hyperlinks to documents on the web, they are
guaranteed never to change.
Trademarks:
You should refrain from using commercial marketing terms or trademarks in your
manuscript title or text except when you are making a specific reference to a piece of equipment. For instance: "UPLC" should
not be used to describe a technique and should be removed except where you are specifically referring to equipment, e.g. in the experimental
section
* Proofs
One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding Author, to be checked
for typesetting/editing. No changes in, or additions to, the accepted (and subsequently edited) manuscript will be allowed at this stage.
Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Elsevier will do everything possible to get your article corrected and published as quickly
and accurately as possible. In order to do this we need your help. When you receive the (PDF) proof of your article for correction, it
is important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication. Subsequent corrections will not be possible,
so please ensure your first sending is complete. Note that this does not mean you have any less time to make your corrections, just that
only one set of corrections will be accepted.
* Electronic Offprints (E-offprints)
The corresponding author, at no cost,
will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints. The PDF file is a watermarked
version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions
of use.
* Important information
- For information on editorial matters (including submission, reviews and revision
of manuscripts) please contact: Editorial Office, Journal of Chromatography B, P.O. Box 681, 1000 AR Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Tel.:
+31 20 485 2832; Fax: +31 20 485 2304; E-mail: chromb@elsevier.com
- For specific enquiries on the preparation of
electronic artwork, consult http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions
- Visit the Author pages at Elsevier.com http://www.elsevier.com/authors)
for the facility to track accepted articles and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an article's status has changed. These pages
also provides detailed artwork guidelines, copyright information, frequently asked questions and more.
- Contact details for questions
arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided when an article is accepted for publication
- For orders, claims and product enquiries; please contact the Customer Service Department at the Regional Sales Office nearest you:
Orlando: Elsevier, Customer Service Department, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32887-4800, USA; phone: (+1) (877) 8397126 [toll free
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(+31) (20) 4853432; e-mail: nlinfo-f@elsevier.com
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