Analyst – the home of high-impact, interdisciplinary detection science

Happy New Year from Analyst and RSC Publishing! We hope you enjoy this first issue of 2009, in which we feature contributions from many of our Editorial and Advisory Board members. We are delighted to have the involvement of so many researchers working at the frontiers of detection science and to have the opportunity to highlight their research. You can look forward to further ground-breaking articles from members of our Boards in forthcoming issues.

More papers, greater impact

As we look forward to 2009, RSC Publishing is working with more authors than ever before – 2008 saw the number of authors published in RSC Journals increase by 30%. Meanwhile titles from across the collection recorded impressive rises in impact factor, and the latest immediacy indices confirm the relevance and topicality of research published by the RSC.

In 2008, Analyst enjoyed an increase in impact factor to 3.553, an 11% rise from its previous value, which continues its impressive rise of recent years.

Even more exciting is that, with an immediacy index of 1.032,†Analyst is number one for immediacy in the ISI^® general analytical chemistry journal category! A journal's immediacy index is a measure of how topical and urgent the papers are and by choosing Analyst as an author, you are more likely to draw citations early, thus seeing an earlier increase in your personal citation rating.

RSC Publishing is committed to providing a world-class publishing service and global visibility to its authors. With the number of citations increasing, immediacy and impact factors rising, it is clear to see that Analyst and RSC Publishing are recognised by researchers throughout the world as a key resource for publishing and reading the very best research. We would like to thank our authors, referees and readers for their part in helping us to achieve this success.

Look for our Top Ten most web-accessed articles published in 2008 below!

Review articles in Analyst

Analyst publishes Critical, Tutorial and Mini-Reviews which give an analytical perspective on the leading topics in the chemical, biological and physical sciences, as well as Urgent Communications and full Research Papers. From this issue onwards, review articles in Analyst will be presented in the same format as original research articles. Our thanks go to Mike Thompson, University of Toronto and former i-section Editor, for his work in developing the journal and his contribution to the success we enjoy today. Mike has recently retired from the Editorial Board and we are pleased that he will maintain his close connection with Analyst as a member of the Advisory Board. Duncan Graham from the University of Strathclyde, has taken up the role of Scientific Editor, Reviews, and we look forward to working closely with him to bring you the highest quality review content over the coming year.

Plate1 Duncan Graham

If you are interested in submitting a review article please contact Niamh or Duncan at E-mail: analyst@rsc.org; . You can submit your original research at www.rsc.org/resource.

Further Editorial Board News

We welcome Steve Soper, Louisiana State University, to the Editorial Board. Look out for Steve's interview with our Assistant Editor, Freya Mearns, in a forthcoming issue of Chemical Technology, www.rsc.org/chemicaltechnology.

Plate2 Steve Soper

We also extend a warm welcome to our Advisory Board members who joined us during 2008: Karen Faulds, Facundo Fernandez, Norbert Jakubowski, Renee JiJi, Julia Laskin, David Russell, Jill Venton, Renato Zenobi and Xinrong Zhang. We thank those members of the Board who have recently retired, Damia Barceló, Colin Creaser, Marcos Eberlin, Paul Haddad, Kiyokatsu Jinno, Hian-Kee Lee, Charles Lucy, Reinhard Niessner, Francesco Palmisano, Janus Pawliszyn, Marj-Liisa Riekkola, Jaromir Ruzicka, Wolfgang Schuhmann, Apryll Stalcup, Karel Štulik and Ian Wilson, for their valued contributions to the journal.

Themed issues

We hope you enjoyed our themed issues published in 2008: Detection for Security (Guest Editors Andy Bell, DSTL, and Pankaj Vadgama, Queen Mary University of London, issue 5, 2008) and Highlighting Chinese Science [Guest Editor Mengsu (Michael) Yang, City University of Hong Kong, issue 9, 2008]. Look out for our themed issue on Optical Diagnosis which will appear in early 2009 and our web theme on Materials for Detection in conjunction with Journal of Materials Chemistry (Guest Editor Charles Martin, University of Florida).

Same great ReSourCe – just better!

During 2009 we will release a new version of ReSourCe, our system for online manuscript submission and peer review (www.rsc.org/resource). Already popular with authors and referees, we've listened to your feedback and made further improvements to our service. We're keen to build on your experience of ReSourCe, so if you would you like to help us shape the next release by taking part in beta-testing or by supplying your comments and suggestions please contact E-mail: resourcesupport@rsc.org.

Your RSC subscriptions and free content

We know that it can be difficult to keep track of online resources that are available to you. So, we've introduced a special web page to help you to find out exactly what RSC content you can access. This new page is called Your RSC Subscriptions (www.rsc.org/Publishing/your_access.asp) and it lists all products for which your organisation has a current subscription, plus other content which may be available to you, such as the RSC Journals Archive and the RSC eBook collection.

You can also find out about RSC content that is available free – including: research articles that are free for a limited time; news articles in magazines; and free chapters from the RSC eBook Collection. Visit www.rsc.org/Publishing/freeRSCcontent.asp.

New journals

Our journal portfolio has expanded with the launch of three new journals.

Energy & Environmental Science, launched in July 2008, publishes research from all aspects of the chemical sciences relating to energy conversion and storage, alternative fuel technologies and environmental science: www.rsc.org/ees.

Metallomics: Integrated biometal science covers the research fields related to metals in biological, clinical and environmental systems. The journal will publish 6 issues this year, increasing to 12 issues in 2010. Visit the website at www.rsc.org/metallomics.

Integrative Biology will provide a unique venue for elucidating biological processes, mechanisms and phenomena through quantitative enabling technologies at the convergence of biology with physics, chemistry, engineering, imaging and informatics. Visit the website for the latest news: www.rsc.org/ibiology.

The current issue of all three journals is freely available online. Free online institutional access to all 2009 content is available for registered users – full details are on the websites.

RSC Books

The RSC eBook Collection has become a world-class electronic resource with licenses being signed to leading institutions across the globe. New content continues to be uploaded regularly and this comprehensive resource now includes over 800 quality titles. Electronic books are uploaded within days of print publication, effortlessly disseminating extensive, high-quality, scientific content direct to scientists, libraries, students, teachers and researchers around the world. Please visit www.rsc.org/eBooks for further information or to visit the RSC eBook Collection.

Over 80 new print books will be published in 2009 as our list continues to grow in size and importance in the international market. Keep up-to-date with all the latest cutting edge titles being published by the RSC by visiting www.rsc.org/ej_alert and subscribing to our eAlerts. We send regular information on discount offers, print books and new electronic content throughout the year.

Food: the RSC theme for 2009

In 2009, the theme for RSC public engagement activities will be food: looking at all aspects of the supply chain from field to fork and eventually to waste disposal and recycling. Planned activities include the launch of a major reports into securing a sustainable food supply; the publication of a new edition of the ground-breaking book Kitchen Chemistry; lectures and events at the new Chemistry Centre at Burlington House – the world's foremost venue for showcasing chemistry; and Chemistry Week 2009 (7th–15th November), when practising scientists and science teachers will engage in a week-long festival for the chemical sciences. Please get in touch with us (E-mail: food@rsc.org) if you would like to be involved.

Finally – thank you!

On behalf of the Editorial Board and RSC Publishing we thank you for your continued support of Analyst and we wish you a happy and prosperous 2009! We welcome your comments and suggestions about our journal, please contact us at E-mail: analyst@rsc.org.

Lisa Hall, Chair, Editorial Board

Niamh O'Connor, Editor

May Copsey, Deputy Editor

Top Ten most accessed articles published in 2008

Ultrasensitive detection and molecular imaging with magnetic nanoparticles

Jian Yang, Jonathan Gunn, Shivang R. Dave, Miqin Zhang, Y. Andrew Wang and Xiaohu Gao, Analyst, 2008, 133, 154–160 (DOI: 10.1039/b700091j)

An inexpensive and portable microchip-based platform for integrated RT–PCR and capillary electrophoresis

Govind V. Kaigala, Viet N. Hoang, Alex Stickel, Jana Lauzon, Dammika Manage, Linda M. Pilarski and Christopher J. Backhouse, Analyst, 2008, 133, 331–338 (DOI: 10.1039/b714308g)

Carbon nanotube-based electrochemical sensors for quantifying the ‘heat’ of chilli peppers: the adsorptive stripping voltammetric determination of capsaicin

Roohollah Torabi Kachoosangi, Gregory G. Wildgoose and Richard G. Compton, Analyst, 2008, 133, 888–895 (DOI: 10.1039/b803588a)

Detection of nitric oxide in single cells

Xiaoying Ye, Stanislav S. Rubakhin and Jonathan V. Sweedler, Analyst, 2008, 133, 423–433 (DOI: 10.1039/b716174c)

Electronic integrated multisensor tongue applied to grape juice and wine analysis

Lia Moreno i Codinachs, Joachim P. Kloock, Michael J. Schöning, Antoni Baldi, Andrey Ipatov, Andrey Bratov and Cecilia Jiménez-Jorquera, Analyst, 2008, 133, 1440–1448 (DOI: 10.1039/b801228h)

Sensitivity by combination: immuno-PCR and related technologies

Michael Adler, Ron Wacker and Christof M. Niemeyer, Analyst, 2008, 133, 702–718 (DOI: 10.1039/b718587c)

Is there a future for sequential chemical extraction?

Jeffrey R. Bacon and Christine M. Davidson, Analyst, 2008, 133, 25–46 (DOI: 10.1039/b711896a)

A solvent-based intelligence ink for oxygen

Andrew Mills and David Hazafy, Analyst, 2008, 133, 213–218 (DOI: 10.1039/b713450a)

Nucleic acid biosensors for environmental pollution monitoring

Ilaria Palchetti and Marco Mascini, Analyst, 2008, 133, 846–854 (DOI: 10.1039/b802920m)

AFM for nanoscale microbe analysis

Yves F. Dufrêne, Analyst, 2008, 133, 297–301 (DOI: 10.1039/b716646j)

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Footnote

† The immediacy index is calculated by dividing the number of times articles in a journal were cited in a given year, by the number of articles published in the journal in that year. ISI 2007 Journal Citation Report^® Science Edition, released June 2008.

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