and forwarding them to the authors for their response, communicating ultimate acceptance or rejection to the corresponding author, and carrying out a final check of accepted manuscripts for appropriate format and style.
Typically, three reviewers are selected per paper on the basis of the subject matter, available expertise, and the Editor’s knowledge of the field. Potential reviewers for each paper are
identified by various means, including a computerized search of the subject area. Authors must submit the names and addresses (including e-mail addresses) of at least four potential reviewers who do not have conflicts of interest with the authors or manuscript content; however, the Editors are under no obligation to use specific individuals. Reviewers are normally asked to provide their assessments within two to three weeks. Anonymous copies of the reviews and the Editor’s decision regarding the acceptability of the manuscript are sent to the corresponding author. If the reviewers’ evaluations of the manuscript disagree, or if reviewer’s and Editor’s comments are not satisfactorily addressed by the authors, the Editor may reject the manuscript or select additional reviewers. These additional reviews are used by the Editor to assist in reaching the final decision regarding disposition of the manuscript.
The obligations of the Editors and Reviewers are outlined in the Ethical Guidelines. Aids for reviewers titled “A Guide to a Review” and “Components of a Manuscript to be Considered in a Review” are available at the Reviewer Information Web site (http://pubs.acs.org/4authors). Just Accepted Manuscripts. Just Accepted manuscripts are peer-reviewed, accepted manuscripts that are published on the ACS Publications Web site prior to technical editing, formatting for publication, and author proofing—usually within 30 minutes to 24 hours of acceptance by the editorial office. During the manuscript submission process, authors can choose to have their manuscript published online as a Just Accepted manuscript. Authors choosing this option must ensure that all intellectual property/patent issues are resolved. To ensure rapid delivery of the accepted manuscript to the Web, authors must adhere carefully to all requirements in the
journal’s Scope, Policy, and Instructions for authors. For further information, please refer to the Just Accepted FAQ, at http://services.acs.org/pubshelp/passthru.cgi?action=kb&item=244. Note that publishing a manuscript as Just Accepted is not a means by which to comply with the NIH Public Access Mandate.
ASAP Publication. Accepted manuscripts will be published on the “Articles ASAP” page on the Journal’s Web site as soon as page proofs are corrected and all author concerns are resolved. Publication on the Web usually occurs within 4 working days of receipt of page proof
corrections, and this can be anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks in advance of the cover date of the issue. Manuscripts assigned to a special issue often remain published ASAP for several months. Authors should take this schedule into account when planning intellectual and patent activities related to a manuscript. The date on which an accepted paper is published on the Web is recorded on the Web version of the manuscript and on the first page of the PDF version.
MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION
Manuscript Format. Manuscripts must be prepared using accepted word-processing software, and all parts must be double-spaced. All pages must be numbered consecutively starting with the title page and including tables and figures. Lines in the abstract and text should be numbered consecutively from beginning to end in a separate column at the left. Do not put line numbers on pages with tables or figures. A standard font, in a size of 12 points or greater, must be used. The Journal has a 20 typed page limit, not including references, tables, and figures. Authors must request approval to submit manuscripts exceeding 20 typed pages.
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Standard American English usage is required. Authors who are not familiar with standard American English are urged to seek assistance; deficiencies in grammar may be a serious hindrance during the review process.
Assistance with English Language Editing. Authors may want to have their manuscripts edited professionally before submission to improve clarity. The ACS ChemWorx English Editing Service can assist you in improving and polishing the language in your manuscript. You can learn more about the services offered, at http://es.acschemworx.acs.org.
The ACS Style Guide (3rd ed., 2006; ISBN 0-8412-3999-1), available from Oxford University Press, Order Department, 201 Evans Road, Cary, NC 27513, provides a detailed treatment of the fundamentals of manuscript preparation. Refer to a current issue of the Journal for general style. The style guide is also available at the Journal’s Web site and through ACS ChemWorx. The various sections of the manuscript should be assembled in the following sequence:
Title and authorship (single page) Abstract and keywords (single page) Introduction
Materials and Methods (including Safety information) Results/Discussion Abbreviations Used Acknowledgment
Supporting Information description References Figure captions Tables
Figure graphics
Graphic for table of contents
TITLE AND AUTHORSHIP
The title, authorship, and institutional affiliations should be included on a single page.
Title. The title should be specific, informative, and concise. Keywords in the title assist in effective literature retrieval. If a plant is referred to in the title or elsewhere in the text by its
common or trivial name, it should be identified by its scientific name in parentheses immediately following its first occurrence. This term should also be provided as one of the keywords. If trade names are mentioned, give generic names in parentheses.
Authorship. Be consistent in authorship designation on the manuscript and on all
correspondence. First name, middle initial, and last name are generally adequate for correct identification, but omit titles. Give the complete mailing address of all institutions where work was conducted and identify the affiliation of each author. If the current address of an author is different, include it in a footnote on the title page. The name of the author to whom inquiries about the paper should be addressed must be marked with an asterisk; provide the telephone and fax numbers and e-mail address of this correspondent.
ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS
Abstract. Authors’ abstracts are used directly for Chemical Abstracts. The abstract should be a clear, concise (100–150 words), one-paragraph summary, informative rather than descriptive, giving scope and purpose, experimental approach, significant results, and major conclusions. Write for literature searchers as well as journal readers.
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Keywords. Provide significant keywords to aid the reader in literature retrieval. The keywords are published immediately before the text, following the abstract.
INTRODUCTION
Discuss relationships of the study to previously published work, but do not reiterate or attempt to provide a complete literature survey. Use of Chemical Abstracts/Scifinder and other appropriate databases is encouraged to ensure that important prior publications or patents are cited and that the manuscript does not duplicate previously published work. The purpose or reason for the research being reported, and its significance, originality, or contribution to new knowledge in the field, should be clearly and concisely stated. Do not include or summarize current findings in this section.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Authors are required to call special attention in their manuscripts to safety considerations such as explosive tendencies, special precautionary handling procedures, and toxicity.
Apparatus, reagents, and biological materials used in the study should be incorporated into a general section. List devices of a specialized nature or instruments that may vary in performance, such that the model used may affect the quality of the data obtained (e.g., spectroscopic resolution).
List and describe preparation of special reagents only. Reagents normally found in the laboratory and preparations described in standard handbooks or texts should not be listed.
Specify the source, vendor [city and state (or city and country if non-U.S.)], and availability of special equipment, reagents, kits, etc. Do not include catalog numbers.
Biological materials should be identified by scientific name (genus, species, authority, and
family) and cultivar, if appropriate, together with the site from which the samples were obtained. Specimens obtained from a natural habitat should be preserved by deposit of samples in an herbarium for plants or in a culture collection for microorganisms, with a corresponding collection or strain number listed.
Manuscripts describing studies in which live animals or human subjects are used must include a statement that such experiments were performed in compliance with the appropriate laws and institutional guidelines and also name the institutional committee that approved the experiments. Authors are encouraged to note the approval code or number or give the name of the approving office or official. (See Reporting Specific Data: Animal or Human Studies.) Manuscripts reporting data from inhumane treatment of experimental animals will be rejected.
Specific experimental methods should be sufficiently detailed for others to repeat the
experiments unequivocally. Omit details of procedures that are common knowledge to those in the field. Brief highlights of published procedures may be included, but details must be left to the References, and verbatim repeat of previously published methods, even if done by the authors, will not be permitted unless a quotation from a published work is included, and placed in
quotation marks, with the reference to the source included at the end of the quotation. Describe pertinent and critical factors involved in reactions so the method can be reproduced, but avoid excessive description. For information on the reporting of certain types of data see Reporting Specific Data.
Describe statistical design and methods in this section.
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RESULTS/DISCUSSION
Results and discussion may be presented in separate sections or combined into a single section, whichever format conveys the results in the most lucid fashion without redundancy. Be complete but concise in discussing findings, comparing results with previous work and proposing explanations for the results observed.
All data must be accompanied by appropriate statistical analyses, including complete
information on sampling, replication, and how the statistical method employed was chosen. Avoid comparisons or contrasts that are not pertinent, and avoid speculation unsupported by the data obtained.
A separate summary or conclusion section is not to be used; any concluding statements are to be incorporated under Results and Discussion.
ABBREVIATIONS AND NOMENCLATURE
Standard abbreviations, without periods, should be used throughout the manuscript.
Refer to The ACS Style Guide for the preferred forms of commonly used abbreviations.
Specialized abbreviations may be used provided they are placed in parentheses after the word(s) for which they are to substitute at first point of use and are again defined in this section. Avoid trivial names and “code” abbreviations (e.g., NAR for naringenin) unless such codes are in common usage (e.g., MTBE for methyl tert-butyl ether).
If trade names are used, define at point of first use. If nomenclature is specialized, include a “Nomenclature” section at the end of the paper, giving definitions and dimensions for all terms. Use SI units insofar as possible. Refer to The ACS Style Guide for lists of SI units and a discussion of their use.
Write all equations and formulas clearly and number equations consecutively. Place superscripts and subscripts accurately; avoid superscripts that may be confused with exponents. Identify typed letters and numbers that might be misinterpreted, such as “oh” for zero or “ell” for one. Chemistry numbering requiring primes should be identified as such (i.e., 3,3′-dihydroxy-), not by an apostrophe (e.g., 3,3′-dihydroxy- ).
It is the authors’ responsibility to provide correct nomenclature. Structures should be included for uncommon chemicals, particularly when the systematic or common name is too complex or unclear to readily denote the structure. Such structures should be included as a figure or table. All nomenclature must be consistent and unambiguous and should conform with current
American usage. Insofar as possible, authors should use systematic names similar to those used by Chemical Abstracts Service, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, and the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Chemical Abstracts (CA)
nomenclature rules are described in Appendix IV of the Chemical Abstracts Index Guide. For CA nomenclature advice, consult the Manager of Nomenclature Services, Chemical Abstracts Service, P.O. Box 3012, Columbus, OH 43210-0012. A name generation service is available for a fee through CAS Client Services, 2540 Olentangy River Road, P.O. Box 3343, Columbus, OH 43210-0334 [telephone (614) 447-3870; fax (614) 447-3747; e-mail answers@cas.org]. In
addition, the ACS Web site has links to nomenclature recommendations at http://chemistry.org.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Include essential credits but hold to an absolute minimum. Omit academic and social titles. Meeting presentation data and acknowledgment of financial support of the work should not be
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included here; give these instead in a note following the References. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to notify individuals named in the Acknowledgment.
FUNDING SOURCES
During manuscript submission, the submitting author is asked to select funding sources from the list of agencies included in the FundRef Registry http://www.crossref.org/fundref/.
REFERENCES
Consult The ACS Style Guide and current issues of the Journal for examples of reference format. Authors should cite all prior published work directly pertinent to the manuscript. However,
extensive bibliographies that go beyond a direct connection with the manuscript are discouraged. Prior work can often be covered by citation of a few leading references or of review articles. As a general guideline, authors should attempt to limit the literature cited to approximately 50 or fewer citations (except for review or perspective manuscripts).
Authors are responsible for the accuracy of their references. References taken from a review or other secondary source should be checked for accuracy with the primary source.
References should be listed on a separate page and numbered in the order in which they are cited in the text.
References should be cited in the text by superscript numbers, for example, 1,2–5, etc.
Give complete information, using the last name and initials of the author, patentee, or equivalent; do not use “Anonymous”.
Follow Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index for abbreviations of journal titles. Because subscribers to the Web edition of the Journal are now able to click on the “Chemport” or other tag following each reference to retrieve the corresponding abstract from various Web resources, reference accuracy is critical.
Typical references follow the styles given below.
For journals:
1. Brown, J.; Jones, M.; Green, D. Article title. J. Agric. Food Chem. 1980, 28, 1–4. (Issue number must be used if each issue of the periodical begins with page 1.) For books:
2. Smith, L; Caldwell, A. Chapter title. In Book Title, edition no.; Keys, F., Park, G., Eds.; Publisher: City, State (or Country if non-U.S.), Year; Vol. no., pp. For Web pages:
3. Black, A.; White, B. Page title. URL (http://...) (most recent access date).
Papers should not depend for their usefulness on unpublished material, and excessive reference to material “in press” is discouraged. Reference to the authors’ own unpublished work is permitted if the subject is of secondary importance to the manuscript in question, but any unpublished results of central importance must be described in sufficient detail within the manuscript. If pertinent references are “in press” or unpublished for any reason, furnish copies to enable reviewers to evaluate the manuscript. An electronic copy of these materials should be uploaded according to the directions for review-only Supporting Information.
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