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Scope of the Journal

Chemical Research in Toxicology publishes Articles, Communications, Reviews, Perspectives, Letters to the Editor, and ToxWatch on a wide range of topics in Toxicology that inform a chemical and molecular understanding and capacity to predict biological outcomes on the basis of structures and processes. The overarching goal of activities reported in the Journal are to provide knowledge and innovative approaches needed to promote intelligent solutions for human safety and ecosystem preservation. The journal emphasizes insight concerning mechanisms of toxicity over phenomenological observations. It upholds rigorous chemical, physical and mathematical standards for characterization and application of modern techniques. Representative research includes:

  1. Studies concerning the molecular mechanisms by which physical, chemical, or biological agents or materials, interact with and perturb the normal function and/or structure of biological systems, including living organisms, cells, or biomolecules.
  2. Studies that address hypotheses concerning mechanisms of adverse or therapeutic responses, or contribute to the development of models of toxic/biological function on the basis of quantifying chemical, molecular and cellular responses to physical, chemical, or biological agents or materials.
  3. Studies involving data resulting from high content characterization of molecular responses to agents from the use of bioanalytical approaches such as proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, genomics, high content imaging, multi-omics, etc. to characterize targeted patterns or global cellular responses, as well as studies that use novel or existing data to create new models for quantifying exposures or building predictive models of biological pathways or networks.
  4. The identification and characterization of potentially hazardous agents such as environmental contaminants, industrial chemicals, drugs and drug-like molecules, natural products, biological toxins and engineered nanomaterials, and the development and application of novel methodologies for their detection and/or characterizations of their interactions with biological systems or biomolecules.
  5. Studies concerning pathological biochemistry and molecular mechanisms of disease etiology involving exogenous as well as endogenous agents and/or molecular pathways or networks.

 

In the case of uncertainty regarding the suitability of a manuscript, authors may send a pre- submission inquiry to the Editor that includes an abstract and cover letter indicating the intended manuscript format by e-mail (eic@crt.acs.org).

Manuscript Types

Reviews, Perspectives, Letters to the Editor, and ToxWatch. See the Manuscript Organization section for details concerning the technical organization for each manuscript type.

 

  • Articles: <300 word abstract; no limit on length, figures/tables, or references
  • Communications: 3000 word limit; <100 word abstract; ~5 or fewer figures/tables; ~30 references
  • Reviews: <300 word abstract; no limit on length, figures/tables, or references
  • Perspectives: 3000-6000 words; <300 word abstract; no limits on figures/tables or references
  • ToxWatch: 1000 words; 250-character abstract; maximum 5 references
    • 1 figure: 7 in width x 9 in. height (or 504 pt x 648 pt)
  • Letters to the Editor: 2000 words; no abstract; 0-1 figures/tables; maximum 5 references

Articles

Comprehensive accounts of significant original research should be submitted as Articles.

Communications

Timely topics that are important and of urgent interest should be submitted as Communications. We aim for a decision within three weeks of receipt. Only minor revisions, completed within ten days, are possible. Any manuscript deemed publishable but requiring a major revision may be further considered as an article. Authors should review the Journal’s Preparation of Manuscripts (below) prior to submission of a manuscript. Communications are strictly limited to 3,000 words.

Reviews

Comprehensive reviews of topics within the scope of the journal and supported by significant literature should be submitted as reviews. Short reviews of recent literature that update a topic are also considered. The information in Reviews should be presented objectively, not limited to the contributions of the authors, and written with the intent of familiarizing the general reader with the broad current state of knowledge of a topic of active interest. The length of reviews should be commensurate with the information available; there are no formal limitations on length.

Perspectives

Manuscripts that discuss particular issues about which the author has expertise, for example introducing new concepts, proposing original models, offering the author’s interpretation of statistical trends, or weighing in on a controversy, should be submitted as perspectives. Perspectives contain approximately 3,000-6,000 words and have no limitations on figures, tables or references.

Letters to the Editor

Communication with the readership of the journal, for example, highlighting important concerns or differences of interpretation of scientific or policy matters relevant to all areas of Toxicology should be submitted as Letters to the Editor. In topics of controversy, contributions from investigators with differing viewpoints may be invited by the Editors. Letters to the Editor should be limited to 2,000 words and are subject to editorial, but not peer review.

ToxWatch

Forum in which interesting perspectives and opinions on current issues in Toxicology including aspects of policy, risk assessment practices, and in explaining how particular research findings in toxicology are anticipated to impact society. These pieces are written in a way that they are accessible by a wide audience, clearly explaining key background information. These articles should also provide a critical evaluation of policies, practices, or scientific work they are addressing. ToxWatch contain approximately 1000 words, a single unnumbered high resolution image without caption that is 7 in. width x 9 in. height (vertical), 7 in. height x 9 in. width (horizontal) or 504 pt x 648 pt graphic, and a maximum of 5 references. This graphic should be used as TOC graphic. ToxWatch is subject to editorial, but not peer review.

ACS Publishing Center

While this document will provide basic information on how to prepare and submit the manuscript as well as other critical information about publishing, we also encourage authors to visit the ACS Publishing Center for additional information on everything that is needed to prepare (and review) manuscripts for ACS journals and partner journals, such as

  • Mastering the Art of Scientific Publication, which shares editor tips about a variety of topics including making your paper scientifically effective, preparing excellent graphics, and writing cover letters.
  • Resources on how to prepare and submit a manuscript to ACS Paragon Plus, ACS Publications’ manuscript submission and peer review environment, including details on selecting the applicable Journal Publishing Agreement.
  • Sharing your research with the public through the ACS Publications open access program.
  • ACS Reviewer Lab, a free online course covering best practices for peer review and related ethical considerations. 
  • ACS Author Lab, a free online course that empowers authors to prepare and submit strong manuscripts, avoiding errors that could lead to delays in the publication process.
  • ACS Inclusivity Style Guide, a guide that helps researchers communicate in ways that recognize and respect diversity in all its forms.

Manuscript Preparation

Submit with Fast Format

All ACS journals and partner journals have simplified their formatting requirements in favor of a streamlined and standardized format for an initial manuscript submission. Read more about the requirements and the benefits these serves authors and reviewers here.

 

Manuscripts submitted for initial consideration must adhere to these standards:

  • Submissions must be complete with clearly identified standard sections used to report original research, free of annotations or highlights, and include all numbered and labeled components.
  • Figures, charts, tables, schemes, and equations should be embedded in the text at the point of relevance. Separate graphics can be supplied later at revision, if necessary.
  • When required by a journal's structure or length limitations, manuscript templates should be used.
  • References can be provided in any style, but they must be complete, including titles. For information about the required components of different reference types, please refer to the ACS Style Quick Guide.
  • Supporting Information must be submitted as a separate file(s).

Document Templates and Format

The templates facilitate the peer review process by allowing authors to place artwork and tables close to the point where they are discussed within the text. Learn more about document templates here.

 

General information on the preparation of manuscripts may also be found in the ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication.

Acceptable Software, File Designations, and TeX/LaTeX

See the list of Acceptable Software and appropriate File Designations to be sure your file types are compatible with ACS Paragon Plus. Information for manuscripts generated from TeX/LaTeX is also available.

Cover Letter

A cover letter must accompany every manuscript submission. During the submission process, you may type it or paste it into the submission system, or you may attach it as a file.

 

We encourage you to view Publishing Your Research 101- Episode 2 on Writing Your Cover Letter.

Manuscript Text Components

Title Page. A brief and informative title (preferably fewer than 12 words) will aid in the classification and indexing of the paper. Do not use trade names of drugs, jargon, or abbreviations. Include keywords. List full names and institutional affiliations of all authors, and if differentiation is necessary, indicate the affiliations of each author by the superscript symbols , , §, , , etc. These symbols should also be used to indicate author affiliations different from those stated on the title page and present address information. The author to whom correspondence should be addressed is indicated by an asterisk. It is implicit in listing a person as an author that this individual has agreed to appear as an author of the manuscript.

 

Table of Contents Graphic. A Table of Contents (TOC) graphic is published with each manuscript. It is submitted for use in the table of contents and is also used for multiple purposes, including the document abstract and other situations where a representative graphic is required. Create an image that represents the work while adhering to size constraints. Keeping in mind that various devices may be involved, some of the best images are simple, relatively free of text and technical characters, and make use of color for visual impact. It is best to avoid complex structure schemes and small-sized details. The author must submit a graphic in the actual size to be used for the TOC that will fit in an area 8.47 cm by 4.76 cm (3.33 in. by 1.88 in.). Larger images will be reduced to fit within those dimensions. Type size of labels, formulas, or numbers within the graphic must be legible at the specified size. Tables or spectra are not acceptable. Place the TOC graphic after the title page and before the abstract page of the manuscript. All elements of the TOC graphic must be (1) entirely original and (2) created by one or more of the authors. Lastly, this graphic should have no legend.

 

Abstract. An abstract should be included with all Articles, Communications, Reviews, and Perspectives. For Articles and Communications, the abstract should briefly (300 word maximum) present, in one paragraph, the problem and experimental approach and state the findings and conclusions. For Reviews and Perspectives, the abstract should introduce the topic, summarize key points, and state the major conclusions. In all cases, the abstract should be self- explanatory and suitable for reproduction without rewriting. Footnotes or undefined abbreviations may not be used. Avoid the use of jargon, but include keywords relevant to the field to improve indexing and discoverability to potential readers. If a reference must be cited, complete publication data must be given.

 

Introduction. The introduction should state the purpose of the investigation and its relation to other work in the field. Background material should be brief and relevant to the research described. Detailed or lengthy reviews of the literature should be avoided.

 

Experimental Procedures. Procedures for experimental methods should be described in sufficient detail to enable other investigators to repeat the experiments. Names of product manufacturers (with city, state address, catalog number) should be included if alternate sources are deemed unsatisfactory or if the product is of limited availability. Novel experimental procedures should be described in detail, but previously published procedures should be referred to by literature citation of the original detailed explanation, and should include description of any modifications.

 

Results. The results should be presented concisely. Tables and figures should be designed to maximize the presentation and comprehension of the experimental data. The same data should not be presented in more than one figure or in both a figure and a table. Detailed interpretation of results should be reserved for the discussion section of an Article.

 

Discussion. The purpose of the discussion is to interpret the results and to relate them to existing knowledge in the field in as clear and brief a fashion as possible. Information given elsewhere in the manuscript should not be repeated in the discussion. Extensive reviews of the literature should be avoided.

 

Funding Information. Authors are required to report ALL funding sources and grant/award numbers relevant to this manuscript. Enter all sources of funding for ALL authors relevant to this manuscript in BOTH the Open Funder Registry tool in ACS Paragon Plus and in the manuscript to meet this requirement. See http://pubs.acs.org/page/4authors/funder_options.html for complete instructions.

 

Acknowledgment. This section should acknowledge technical assistance, advice from colleagues, gifts, etc. Permission should be sought from persons whose contribution to the work is acknowledged in the manuscript.

 

Abbreviations. Abbreviations are used in ACS Journals without periods. Standard abbreviations should be used throughout the manuscript. All nonstandard abbreviations should be kept to a minimum and must be defined in the text following their first use.

 

Footnotes. When footnotes are necessary to express some relevant thoughts, these should be included as a parenthetical statement, placed next to the related text to ensure visibility. Footnotes should not be included in the reference list.

 

Tables. Tabulation of experimental results is encouraged when this leads to more effective presentation or to more economical use of space. Tables may be created using a word processor’s text mode or table format feature. The table format feature is preferred. Ensure each data entry is in its own cell; no listing of data by using bullets or numbering. If the text mode is used, separate columns with a single tab and use a line feed (return) at the end of each row. Tables should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals. Provide a brief title with each table and a brief heading for each column. Clearly indicate the units of measure (preferably SI). Data should be rounded to the nearest significant figure. Explanatory material referring to the whole table is to be included as a footnote to the title (a). Footnotes in tables should be given lower case letter designations and cited in the tables as italicized superscripts. All tables should be cited in the text in consecutive order.

 

Previously published tables that are being borrowed or adapted from another source require permission from the copyright holder. Once permission is obtained, the permission letter should be uploaded to the submission under the tag “Other Files for Editors Only.” Also, the copyright holder’s preferred credit line should be included in the table’s legend.

 

Figures and Figure Legends. Line drawings, graphs, stereograms, histograms, and black and white (or color) photographs are all classified as figures and should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals in order of citation. Figure legends should be placed after the tables as a single list with the figures following. The figures must be embedded in the same document as the article and not submitted separately as Supporting Information. It may help to print the manuscript on a laser printer to ensure all artwork is clear and legible. See below for guidelines for preparing publication quality illustrations.

 

*Authors Photos and Biographies. All authors of Reviews and Perspectives (but not other publication formats) should provide a short biography (100 words or less) to be published with the articles.

 

Headshots (i.e., photos) of the authors may also be provided for publication with the biography. Photos and accompanying biography should be inserted below the reference list in the manuscript. Each photo must be high resolution (at least 300 ppi). No logos may appear in the photo. Before publication, each author must sign (1) a Model Release Form and (2) either a Copyright Transfer Form, which transfers copyright to ACS, or the Nonexclusive Rights Agreement, by which the copyright holder keeps the copyright but grants ACS permission to use the photo. Please choose either the Copyright Transfer Form or the Nonexclusive Rights Agreement; do not sign both forms.

Supporting Information

This information is provided to the reviewers during the peer-review process (for Review Only) and is available to readers of the published work (for Publication). Supporting Information must be submitted at the same time as the manuscript. See the list of Acceptable Software by File Designation and confirm that your Supporting Information is viewable.

 

If the manuscript is accompanied by any supporting information files for publication, these files will be made available free of charge to readers. A brief, nonsentence description of the actual contents of each file, including the file type extension, is required. This description should be labeled Supporting Information and should appear before the Acknowledgement and Reference sections.  Examples of sufficient and insufficient descriptions are as follows:

 

Examples of sufficient descriptions: “Supporting Information: 1H NMR spectra for all compounds (PDF)” or “Additional experimental details, materials, and methods, including photographs of experimental setup (DOC)”.

 

Examples of insufficient descriptions: “Supporting Information: Figures S1-S3” or “Additional figures as mentioned in the text”.

 

When including supporting information for review only, include copies of references that are unpublished or in-press. These files are available only to editors and reviewers.

Research Data Policy

All ACS journals strongly encourage authors to make the research data underlying their articles publicly available at the time of publication.

Research data is defined as materials and information used in the experiments that enable the validation of the conclusions drawn in the article, including primary data produced by the authors for the study being reported, secondary data reused or analyzed by the authors for the study, and any other materials necessary to reproduce or replicate the results.

The ACS Research Data Policy provides additional information on Data Availability Statements, Data Citation, and Data Repositories.

Data Requirements

Chemical Identity and Purity. The identity and purity of key compounds, including those used for toxicological testing, and description(s) of the method(s) used to determine purity, which should generally include HPLC and NMR, should be included in the experimental procedures section. Characterization data for key compounds should include HPLC, 1H NMR/13C NMR (peak lists), and HRMS. For instructions on submitting NMR data, refer to ACS guidelines: https://publish.acs.org/publish/manu_prep_sub. HRMS data should be reported to support the molecular formula assignment and should include the molecular formulas on which the theoretical (calcd) values are based. HRMS molecular formulas and calcd values should include any added atoms (usually H or Na). Found values should be close enough to the calcd values, and have sufficiently small estimated uncertainties, to exclude alternative plausible formulas. The ionization method and the mass detector type should be reported.

 

Nanomaterials. The physico-chemical properties of nanomaterials used for toxicological studies should be characterized appropriately in order to support the conclusions of the study. This applies to commercially available materials as well as to designed materials. Where applicable, the information included should comprise primary size and shape, aspect ratio, size distribution, agglomeration or aggregation state, rigidity, elemental composition, surface modification, zeta potential, redox potential, surface reactivity, and/or crystalline phase. A description or reference to the synthetic procedure used to prepare the materials should be included. Furthermore, the stability and reactivity of the nanomaterials as well as influence of external parameters like the composition of cell culture media, buffers etc. on the nanomaterials properties should be addressed, for example by measurements of dissolution or dissolution rate, formation of reactive oxygen species or agglomeration under experimental conditions. Finally, the techniques used to characterize the materials should be described sufficiently or referenced, including the description of algorithms and methods used to analyze the data.

 

Hazardous Materials. Authors must emphasize any unexpected, new, and/or significant hazards or risks associated with the reported work. This information should be in the experimental details section of the full article or communication. All hazardous chemicals should be clearly identified as such. Precautions for handling dangerous materials or for performing hazardous procedures should be explicitly stated and referenced. Identification of and precautions for handling hazardous chemicals and dangerous procedures should be placed at the beginning of this section. An example would be: “Caution: The following chemicals are hazardous and should be handled carefully: (list of chemicals and handling procedures or references)”.

 

Biological models: The identity and source of the biological model used (i.e. organism, cells) should be specified (collection and collection number) and referenced (primary description). Where appropriate, information on the state of cell lines (e.g. passage number, doubling number) and information regarding how they were authenticated to ensure identity and validity for use, should be given. A rationale for selecting the specific model relevant to the aims of the study should be given.

 

Biological Assays. Exposure protocols and methods must be referenced or described in sufficient detail to permit the experiments to be repeated by other investigators. This includes for example information on the preparation of the test materials, medium components, and duration of exposure. In addition, the applied dose or dose range should be given in a meaningful unit and the relevance of the applied dose should be substantiated. Doses and concentrations should be expressed as molar quantities (e.g., μmol/kg, mM, etc.), particularly when comparisons of potencies are made on compounds having large differences in molecular weights. The routes of administration of test compounds and vehicles should be indicated. Benchmarks should be included in form of appropriate positive or negative control substances or reference materials. Especially for studies on nanomaterials, assays should be checked for interference induced by nanomaterials, e.g. optical or chemical interference, masking of the analyte or other interference mechanisms by inclusion of appropriate controls. Also for studies on nanomaterials, sterilization procedures and specification of dilution steps as well as the order of addition should be provided, and as far as possible, various measuring units related to dose (e.g. surface area, mass, particle number per surface area, volume, cell number) should be given to increase comparability with other studies. Data may be presented as numerical expressions or in graphical form. Statistical limits (statistical significance) for the biological data are usually required. If statistical limits cannot be provided, the number of determinations and some indication of the variability and reliability of the results should be given. References to statistical methods of calculation should be included.

 

In vivo studies: For research involving animals: An indication that all animal experiments have undergone ethical review and were carried out with appropriate permissions or licences from national or institutional committees that cover the research must be provided. Relevant details listed in the latest version of the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) guidelines should be given, especially the description of animals (e.g. source, sex, age, species, and strain), experimental design (e.g. number of groups, number of animals in each group, how animals were divided, and a flow chart of the study protocol) and procedures (e.g. drug or chemical formulation, dose, treatment time and frequency). The numbers of animals for each experiment used in the research should be clearly stated in the Materials and Methods section in manuscript and legends of relevant Tables and Figures.

 

Justifications for the doses used in the research should be included, and where appropriate, the relationship between these doses and relevant environmental or human exposure or intake levels is encouraged to be provided.

 

For research involving human subjects: A statement confirming that the research has been approved by relevant ethical committees and performed under The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) must be provided. Details listed in the latest version of the STROBE (The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) guidelines and description of informed consent protocols  must also be provided.

 

Data Deposition. Large data sets, such as those from structure determination, omics or sequencing data must be submitted to discipline-appropriate repositories recognized by the corresponding scientific community, and made publically available by the time of publication. A statement must appear in the submitted manuscript confirming submission of the data and indicating the data bank and any pertinent accession codes/ID.

 

Any set of atomic coordinates for structural data referred to in the manuscript, including atomic coordinates and structure factors for proteins determined by X-ray crystallography and coordinates determined by NMR, should be deposited with the Protein Data Bank, Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics at Rutgers University whenever appropriate. (Theoretical model depositions are no longer accepted for inclusion in the PDB archive.) If the coordinate files are not deposited in the PDB, or if the PDB files are on hold until publication, then the coordinate files must be included in the Supporting Information submitted concurrently with the manuscript. Requirements are similar for structures of nucleic acids, which should be deposited with the Nucleic Acid Database. A manuscript that does not provide coordinates at the time of submission will not be sent out for review. It is the responsibility of the author to obtain a file name (PDB ID or NDB ID) for the molecule; the file name must appear in the published manuscript. If a file name has not yet been obtained upon acceptance of a paper, it must be added in proof. Atomic coordinates and structure factors for all structures mentioned must be available immediately upon publication of the paper, either directly in the Supporting Information or as a data bank deposition. Similar requirements also apply to any chemical shifts referred to in the paper, whether they are only for assignment of resonances or used for any form of structure calculation. Those chemical shifts must be available to the reviewer at time of submission, either as an available entry in the Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank or included directly as Supplementary Information.

 

Any sequencing data should be submitted to a public repository prior to submission and include accession numbers in the manuscript where appropriate. Examples of suitable public repositories for DNA and RNA sequences include GenBank or Protein DataBank; nucleic acid sequencing data can be deposited in NCBI Trace Archive or NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA). Protein sequences can be submitted to Uniprot.

 

Binding DB: Authors may wish to submit binding constants and associated information to the public database BindingDB.

 

Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT)

 

CRediT is a high-level taxonomy used to identify and acknowledge the roles played by contributors to scientific scholarly output. During original submission and/or revision, there are 14 standard roles from which the submitting author can select to describe the specific contributions of each author. At this time, CRediT is optional for authors. Please note that author CRediT information will not transfer if the manuscript is transferred to a non-pilot journal. Click here to learn more about the ACS CRediT pilot.

Language and Editing Services

A well-written paper helps share your results most clearly. ACS Publications’ English Editing Service is designed to help scientists communicate their research effectively. Our subject-matter expert editors will edit your manuscript for grammar, spelling, and other language errors so your ideas are presented at their best.

Preparing Graphics

The quality of illustrations in ACS journals and partner journals depends on the quality of the original files provided by the authors. Figures are not modified or enhanced by journal production staff. All graphics must be prepared and submitted in digital format.

 

Graphics should be inserted into the main body whenever possible. Please see Appendix 2 for additional information.

 

Any graphic (figure chart, scheme, or equation) that has appeared in an earlier publication should include a credit line citing the original source. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to re-use this material.

Figure and Illustration Services

The impact of your research is not limited to what you can express with words. Tables and figures such as graphs, photographs, illustrations, diagrams, and other visuals can play a significant role in effectively communicating your findings. Our Artwork Editing and Graphical Abstract services generate publication-ready figures and Table of Contents (TOC) graphics that conform to your chosen journal’s specifications. For figures, this includes changes to file type, resolution, color space, font, scale, line weights, and layout (to improve readability and professional appearance). For TOC graphics, our illustrators can work with a rough sketch or concept or help extract the key findings of your manuscript directly for use as a visual summary of your paper.

Preparing for Submission

Manuscripts, graphics, supporting information, and required forms, as well as manuscript revisions, must all be submitted in digital format through ACS Paragon Plus, which requires an ACS ID to log in. Registering for an ACS ID is fast, free, and does not require an ACS membership. Please refer to Appendix 1 for additional information on preparing your submission

Prior Publication Policy

Chemical Research in Toxicology authors are allowed to deposit an initial draft of their manuscript in a preprint service such as ChemRxiv, arXiv, bioRxiv or similar repository relevant to the research. Please note any use of a preprint server, as well as patents, dissertations, published conference proceedings or related dissemination, in the cover letter, and as appropriate, state how the manuscript has been adjusted/updated between deposition and submission. All other prior/redundant publications are forbidden.

 

Upon publication in Chemical Research in Toxicology, authors are advised to add a link from the preprint to the published paper via the Digital Object Identifier (DOI).

Editorial Policies

When a manuscript is received, Editors first judge whether its content is appropriate for publication in Chemical Research in Toxicology. Manuscripts that are primarily descriptive, confirmative of previous work, or those that do not address fundamental aspects of mechanisms or are not, in the judgment of the Editors, of sufficient interest to the general readers of Chemical Research in Toxicology will be returned to the author without further review. Following this initial evaluation, manuscripts are assigned to an Editor (the Editor-in-Chief or an Associate Editor) for review. The author will receive an e- mail notification indicating the Editor who will be processing the manuscript.

 

Manuscripts are evaluated for scientific content and significance by independent reviewers and the Editors. Reviewers are selected by the editors for their competence relevant to the manuscript. Authors also are required to provide the names of a minimum of three individuals who are competent to review the work. Authors should take care not to recommend reviewers who have a real or perceived conflict of interest (e.g., a collaborator or someone who has recently published with one of the authors), and all reviewers are expected to disqualify themselves if they have a conflict of interest. Authors may also express a preference that certain reviewers not be chosen. The reviewers are advisory to the Editor, who makes the final decision. If the reviewers disagree or, if in the judgment of the Editor, the manuscript has not received adequate consideration, a member of the Editorial Advisory Board may arbitrate. Editorial decisions that result from this process are final.

 

When a manuscript is returned to the author for revision, the author should reply, point by point, to reviewers’ and editors’ comments and, in an accompanying letter, indicate those recommendations that have been incorporated into the revision and the reasons for any that have been disregarded. When submitting a revised manuscript, authors should include a version of the manuscript that has the Tracked Changes feature turned on, so editors and reviewers can see the revisions that were made to the original manuscript. Please upload this version of the manuscript under the tag “Supporting Information for Review Only”. Authors should still indicate page and line numbers when referring to edited text in their response letter to the reviewers. An unmarked, final version of the manuscript should be uploaded under the tag “Manuscript File.” Manuscripts requiring a minor revision should be returned within 30 days (10 days for Communications). Manuscripts requiring a major revision should be returned within 60 days (no major revisions possible for Communications). Usually only one major revision will be considered. Authors requiring longer periods may request an extension, which will be granted at the discretion of the Editor. In general, a revised manuscript received beyond the specified deadline will be considered a new submission, will receive a new manuscript number, and will usually undergo a new review process.

Providing Potential Reviewer Names

Please suggest 5 reviewers. Authors are encouraged to avoid suggesting reviewers from the authors’ institutions. Do not suggest reviewers who may have a real or perceived conflict of interest. Whenever possible, suggest academic email addresses rather than personal email addresses.

Manuscript Transfer

If your submission is declined for publication by this journal, the editors might deem your work to be better suited for another ACS Publications journal or partner journal and suggest that the authors consider transferring the submission. Manuscript Transfer simplifies and shortens the process of submitting to another ACS journal or partner journal, as all the coauthors, suggested reviewers, manuscript files, and responses to submission questions are copied by ACS Paragon Plus to the new draft submission. Authors are free to accept or decline the transfer offer.

 

Note that each journal is editorially independent. Transferring a manuscript is not a guarantee that the manuscript will be accepted, as the final publication decision will belong to the editor of the next journal.

PRODUCTION AND PUBLICATION

Proofs via ACS Direct Correct

Correction of the galley proofs is the responsibility of the Corresponding Author. The Corresponding Author of an accepted manuscript will receive e-mail notification and complete instructions when page proofs are available for review via ACS Direct Correct. Extensive or important changes on page proofs, including changes to the title or list of authors, are subject to review by the editor.

 

It is the responsibility of the Corresponding Author to ensure that all authors listed on the manuscript agree with the changes made on the proofs. Galley proofs should be returned within 48 hours in order to ensure timely publication of the manuscript.

Publication Date and Patent Dates

Accepted manuscripts will be published on the ACS Publications Web site as soon as page proofs are corrected and all author concerns are resolved. The first date on which the document is published on the Web is considered the publication date.

 

Publication of manuscripts on the Web may occur weeks in advance of the cover date of the issue of publication. Authors should take this into account when planning their patent and intellectual property activities related to a document and should ensure that all patent information is available at the time of first publication, whether ASAP or issue publication.

 

All articles published ahead of print receive a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, which is used to cite the manuscript before and after the paper appears in an issue. Additionally, any supplemental information submitted along with the manuscript will automatically be assigned a DOI and hosted on Figshare to promote open data discoverability and use of your research outputs.

ASAP Publication

Manuscripts will be published on the “ASAP Articles” page on the web as soon as page proofs are corrected and all author concerns are resolved. ASAP publication usually occurs within a few working days of receipt of page proof corrections, which can be several weeks in advance of the cover date of the issue.

Post-Publication Policies

The American Chemical Society follows guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when considering any ethical concerns regarding a published article, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern.

Additions and Corrections

Additions and Corrections may be requested by the author(s) or initiated by the Editor to address important issues or correct errors and omissions of consequence that arise after publication of an article. All Additions and Corrections are subject to approval by the Editor, and should bring new and directly relevant information and corrections that fix scientific facts. Minor corrections and additions will not be published. Readers who detect errors of consequence in the work of others should contact the corresponding author of that work.

 

Additions and Corrections must be submitted as new manuscripts via ACS Paragon Plus by the Corresponding Author for publication in the “Addition/Correction” section of the Journal. The corresponding author should obtain approval from all coauthors prior to submitting or provide evidence that such approval has been solicited. The manuscript should include the original article title and author list, citation including DOI, and details of the correction.

Retractions

Articles may be retracted for scientific or ethical reasons and may be requested by the article author(s) or by the journal Editor(s), but are ultimately published at the discretion of the Editor. Articles that contain seriously flawed or erroneous data such that their findings and conclusions cannot be relied upon may be retracted in order to correct the scientific record. When an article is retracted, a notice of Retraction will be published containing information about the reason for the Retraction. The originally published article will remain online except in extraordinary circumstances (e.g. where deemed legally necessary, or if the availability of the published content poses public health risks).

Expressions of Concern

Expressions of Concern may be issued at the discretion of the Editor if:

  • there is inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors;
  • there is evidence that the findings are unreliable but the authors’ institution will not investigate the case;
  • an investigation into alleged misconduct related to the publication either has not been, or would not be, fair and impartial or conclusive;
  • an investigation is underway but a judgment will not be available for a considerable time.

 

Upon completion of any related investigation, and when a final determination is made about the outcome of the article, the Expression of Concern may be replaced with a Retraction notice or Correction.

Sharing Your Published Article

At ACS Publications, we know it is important for you to be able to share your peer reviewed, published work with colleagues in the global community of scientists. As sharing on sites known as scholarly collaboration networks (SCNs) is becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s scholarly research ecosystem, we would like to remind you of the many ways in which you, a valued ACS author, can share your published work.

 

Publishing open access makes it easy to share your work with friends, colleagues, and family members. In addition, ACS Publications makes it easy to share your newly published research with ACS Articles on Request (see below). Don’t forget to promote your research and related data on social media, at conferences, and through scholarly communication networks. Increase the impact of your research using the following resources: Altmetrics, Figshare, ACS Certified Deposit

E-Prints

When your article is published in an ACS journal or partner journal, corresponding authors are provided with a link that offers up to 50 free digital prints of the final published work. This link is valid for the first 12 months following online publication, and can be shared via email or an author’s website. After one year, the access restrictions to your article will be lifted, and you can share the Articles on Request URL on social media and other channels. To access all your Articles on Request links, log in to your ACS Publishing Center account and visit the “My Published Manuscripts” page.

Reprints

Article, journal, and commercial reprints are available to order.

Appendix 1: PREPARING FOR SUBMISSION

We’ve developed ACS’ publishing and editorial policies in consultation with the research communities that we serve, including authors and librarians. Browse our policies below to learn more.

Ethical Guidelines

ACS editors have provided Ethical Guidelines for persons engaged in the publication of chemical research—specifically, for editors, authors, and reviewers. Each journal also has a specific policy on prior publication.

OFAC Compliance

As a U.S.-based non-profit organization, the American Chemical Society (ACS) is required to comply with U.S. sanctions laws and regulations administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). While these laws and regulations permit U.S.-based publishers like ACS to engage in publishing-related activities with authors located in sanctioned regions in many cases, ACS may be prohibited under U.S. law from engaging in publishing-related activities in some cases, including, but not limited to, instances where an author or the institution with which an author is affiliated is located in a particular sanctioned region or has been designated by OFAC as a Specially Designated National (SDN) pursuant to certain U.S. sanctions programs. ACS reserves the right to refrain from engaging in any publishing-related activities that ACS determines in its sole discretion may be in violation of U.S. law.

 

Safety Considerations

Authors must emphasize any unexpected, new, and/or significant hazards or risks associated with the reported work. This information should be in the Experimental Section of a full article and included in the main text of a letter. Statement examples can be found in the Safety Statement Style Sheet and additional information on communicating safety information from the ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication is freely available here.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

A statement describing any financial conflicts of interest or lack thereof is published in each ACS journal and partner journal article.

 

During the submission process, the Corresponding Author must provide a statement on behalf of all authors of the manuscript, describing all potential sources of bias, including affiliations, funding sources, and financial or management relationships, that may constitute conflicts of interest. If the manuscript is accepted, the statement will be published in the final article.

 

If the manuscript is accepted and no conflict of interest has been declared, the following statement will be published in the final article: “The authors declare no competing financial interest.”

Plagiarism

In publishing only original research, ACS is committed to deterring plagiarism, including self-plagiarism. ACS Publications uses CrossCheck's iThenticate software to screen submitted manuscripts for similarity to published material. Note that your manuscript may be screened during the submission process.

 

Further information about plagiarism can be found in Part B of the Ethical Guidelines to Publication of Chemical Research. See also the press release regarding ACS' participation in the CrossCheck initiative.

Authorship, Author List, and Coauthor Notification

Authors are required to obtain the consent of all their coauthors prior to submitting a manuscript. The submitting author accepts the responsibility of notifying all coauthors that the manuscript is being submitted.

 

During manuscript submission, the submitting author must provide contact information (full name, email address, institutional affiliation, and mailing address) for all of the coauthors. Because all of the author names are automatically imported into the electronic Journal Publishing Agreement, the names must be entered into ACS Paragon Plus. (Note that coauthors are not required to register in ACS Paragon Plus.) Author affiliation should reflect where the work was completed, even if the author has since left that institution. Authors may include a note with a current address if their institution has changed since the work was completed.

 

To expedite the processing of your manuscript, please format your author and affiliation information according the guidelines in this link: https://pubsapp.acs.org/paragonplus/submission/author-address-information.pdf.

 

Criteria for authorship can be found in Part B of the Ethical Guidelines to Publication of Chemical Research. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools do not qualify for authorship. The use of AI tools for text or image generation should be disclosed in the manuscript within the Acknowledgment section with a description of when and how the tools were used. For more substantial use cases or descriptions of AI tool use, authors should provide full details within the Methods or other appropriate section of the manuscript.

 

If any change in authorship is necessary after a manuscript has been submitted, confirmation is required that all of the authors (including those being added or removed) have been notified and have agreed to the change. To provide this confirmation, authors are asked to complete and sign an authorship change form and provide the completed form to the appropriate editorial office.

 

Authors with a single name: If you, or any of your coauthors, have only one name, please follow these steps for proper submission to ACS Paragon Plus:

  1. First (Given) Name Field: Enter an asterisk (*) into the "First (Given) Name" field.
  2. Last (Family) Name Field: Enter your single name into the "Last (Family) Name" field.

If your paper is accepted, the asterisk (*) will be removed from the published version of the paper.

 

 

Patent Activities and Intellectual Property

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all patent activities and intellectual property issues are satisfactorily resolved prior to first publication (ASAP or in issue). Acceptance and publication will not be delayed for pending or unresolved issues of this nature.

Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

Authors submitting manuscript revisions are required to provide their own personal, validated ORCID iD before completing the submission, if an ORCID iD is not already associated with their ACS Paragon Plus user profiles. This ID may be provided during original manuscript submission or when submitting the manuscript revision. All authors are strongly encouraged to register for an ORCID iD, a unique researcher identifier. The ORCID iD will be displayed in the published article for any author on a manuscript who has a validated ORCID iD associated with ACS when the manuscript is accepted.

 

ORCID iDs should not be typed into the manuscript. ACS publishes only those ORCID iDs that have been properly verified and linked before the manuscript is accepted. After your ORCID iD is linked, it will be displayed automatically in all subsequently accepted manuscripts for any/all ACS journals. We do not publish ORCID iDs provided during proof review or via other communications after a manuscript is accepted for publication.

 

With an ORCID iD, you can create a profile of your research activities to distinguish yourself from other researchers with similar names, and make it easier for your colleagues to find your publications. If you do not yet have an ORCID iD, or you wish to associate your existing ORCID iD with your ACS Paragon Plus account, you may do so by clicking on “Edit Your Profile” from your ACS Paragon Plus account homepage and following the ORCID-related links. Learn more at www.orcid.org.

To obtain forms and guidelines for completing the Journal Publishing Agreement or obtaining permissions from copyright owners, and to explore a Copyright Learning Module for chemists, click here.

Funder Reporting Requirement

Authors are required to report funding sources and grant/award numbers. Enter ALL sources of funding for ALL authors in BOTH the Funder Registry Tool in ACS Paragon Plus and in your manuscript to meet this requirement.

Open Access Compliance

ACS offers options by which authors can fulfill the requirements for open access and deposition into repositories for funded research. Visit our ACS Open Science site to see how to fulfill requirements for specific funders and to find out if you are eligible to publish under a Read + Publish agreement between ACS and your institution. You can also find out more about Open Access Compliance and ACS Open Science initiatives.

Diversity and Inclusion Statement

During manuscript submission, ACS journal authors have the option to submit a statement sharing information related to diversity and inclusion that is relevant for their paper. If supplying a diversity and inclusion statement, the corresponding author must provide this on behalf of all authors of the manuscript during the submission process. These statements include but are not limited to analysis of citation diversity and acknowledgment of indigenous land on which research was conducted. Statements expressing political beliefs are not permitted and may be removed by the journal office. All statements are subject to final review by the Editor.

  • Citation Diversity Statement:The citation diversity statement should appear in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript. ACS recommends including the following: (1) the importance of citation diversity, (2) the proportion of citations by gender and race/ethnicity for the first and last authors, (3) the method used to determine those proportions and its limitations, and (4) steps taken to by the authors to improve citation diversity in the article. We recognize that one limitation of the current methods is that it cannot account for intersex, non-binary, and transgender people, or Indigenous and mixed-race authors. (Adapted from BMES/Springer Guidelines)
  • Land acknowledgment:The land acknowledgment statement should appear in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript. The statement should link to the institutions’ formal land acknowledgments on which the research took place, if possible. Further guidance for creating these statements can be found here: https://nativegov.org/news/a-guide-to-indigenous-land-acknowledgment/.

 

Appendix 2: Preparing Graphics

Resolution

Digital graphics pasted into manuscripts should have the following minimum resolutions:

  • Black and white line art, 1200 dpi
  • Grayscale art, 600 dpi
  • Color art, 300 dpi

Size

Graphics must fit a one- or two-column format. Single-column graphics can be sized up to 240 points wide (3.33 in.) and double-column graphics must be sized between 300 and 504 points (4.167 in. and 7 in.). The maximum depth for all graphics is 660 points (9.167 in.) including the caption (allow 12 pts. For each line of caption text). Lettering should be no smaller than 4.5 points in the final published format. The text should be legible when the graphic is viewed full-size. Helvetica or Arial fonts work well for lettering. Lines should be no thinner than 0.5 point.

Color

Color may be used to enhance the clarity of complex structures, figures, spectra, and schemes, etc., and color reproduction of graphics is provided at no additional cost to the author. Graphics intended to appear in black and white or grayscale should not be submitted in color.

Type of Graphics

Table of Contents (TOC)/Abstract Graphic

Consult the Guidelines for Table of Contents/Abstract Graphics for specifications.

Our team of subject-matter experts and graphical designers can also help generate a compelling TOC graphic to convey your key findings. Learn more about our Graphical Abstract service.

Figures

A caption giving the figure number and a brief description must be included below each figure. The caption should be understandable without reference to the text. It is preferable to place any key to symbols used in the artwork itself, not in the caption. Ensure that any symbols and abbreviations used in the text agree with those in the artwork.

Charts

Charts (groups of structures that do not show reactions) may have a brief caption describing their contents.

Tables

Each table must have a brief (one phrase or sentence) title that describes the contents. The title should be understandable without reference to the text. Details should be put in footnotes, not in the title. Tables should be used when the data cannot be presented clearly in the narrative, when many numbers must be presented, or when more meaningful inter-relationships can be conveyed by the tabular format. Tables should supplement, not duplicate, information presented in the text and figures. Tables should be simple and concise.

Schemes

Each scheme (sequences of reactions) may have a brief caption describing its contents.

Chemical Structures

Chemical structures should be produced with the use of a drawing program such as ChemDraw.

Cover Art

Chemical Research in Toxicology encourages authors to submit images to be considered for use on the journal’s front cover or Supplementary Covers at the time of the submission of their revised manuscript. If your article is accepted for publication, your suggestion may also be selected for use on one of the journal’s covers. Images chosen for the front cover will be published at no cost to the author. If your art is selected for front cover, ACS will send you information about how to request one complimentary 18” by 24” printed poster featuring your work.

 

Your cover image submissions should be colorful and visually engaging, with minimal text. The cover image should be an artistic and scientifically accurate representation of your manuscript. The editors prefer artistic renditions of structures, function, and data - it should not resemble a graphical abstract or data figure. Submit your cover image, along with a clear caption (less than 50 words) explaining the image, as supplementary files to ACS Paragon Plus with your revised manuscript. Image files should be submitted as TIF, JPG, PNG or EPS files with a resolution of at least 300 dpi for pixel-based images. Images should be 8.19 in × 10 in. (or 20.80 cm × 25.40 cm). Please note that the journal title will cover the top 3 in. (7.62 cm) of the image.

 

If you wish to be considered only for the front cover, and not a paid supplementary cover, please respond NO accordingly to the Journal Covers question in ACS Paragon Plus. For more information on the Supplementary Covers program, please see this webpage. All art submitted for consideration for a supplementary cover will also be considered for a front cover.

Web Enhanced Objects (WEO)

The Web editions of ACS journals allow readers to view multimedia attachments such as animations and movies that complement understanding of the research being reported.

 

WEOs should be uploaded in ACS Paragon Plus with ‘Web Enhanced Object’ selected as the file designation. Consult the list of compatible WEO formats.