Making a successful start

Happy New Year from Nanoscale, and welcome to the first issue of 2010! Nanoscale was launched late in 2009, with the intention to bridge the various disciplines involved with nanoscience and nanotechnology, and to provide a forum for sharing high-quality research results and discourse. Our first issues contained articles of the highest quality from leading international research groups, covering all areas of nanoscience.

We've been delighted by the response to the journal so far, and by the submissions we've received and published. After such an exceptional start we are confident that Nanoscale will continue to attract work of the highest quality and impact, and will be read by the full breadth of the nanoscience communities it serves.

Introducing the inaugural Editorial Board

One of the key support structures of Nanoscale is the Editorial Board. We have brought together a vibrant group of high-calibre scientists from a range of scientific backgrounds and geographical regions to join the three Editors-in-chief, Professors Chunli Bai, Markus Niederberger and Francesco Stellacci

Plate1 Chunli Bai, Editor-in-Chief, Asia-Pacific

Plate2 Markus Niederberger, Editor-in-Chief, Europe

Plate3 Francesco Stellacci, Editor-in-Chief, North America

• Professor Lennart Bergström, Stockholm University, Sweden, who works on synthesizing and assembling inorganic materials into challenging and useful structures and compositions.

• Professor Claus Feldmann, Karlsruhe University, Germany, whose research focuses on the synthesis, analytical characterization and investigation of functional nanomaterials.

• Professor Sharon Glotzer, University of Michigan, USA, who uses computer simulation to understand the fundamental principles of how a wide range of nanoscale systems self-assemble.

• Professor Xingyu Jiang, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, China, who works on nanosystems for biomedical applications.

• Professor Molly Stevens, Imperial College London, UK, who works on exploiting specific biomolecular recognition and self-assembly mechanisms to create new dynamic nanomaterials, biosensors and drug delivery systems.

• Professor Dmitri Talapin, University of Chicago, USA, who uses colloidal synthesis, self-assembly and characterization of nanomaterial properties to create novel materials for electronic, photovoltaic, thermoelectric and catalytic applications.

• Professor G. Julius Vancso, University of Twente, The Netherlands, whose research focuses on the molecular-level understanding, manipulation and control of polymeric materials.

In addition, we are delighted to introduce Professor Jianfang Wang from the Department of Physics at The Chinese University of Hong Kong as Associate Editor of Nanoscale. Prof. Wang graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1993 and received his MSc and PhD degrees from Peking University (1996) and Harvard University (2002), respectively.

Plate4 Jianfang Wang, Associate Editor

Nanoscale at ChinaNano

Many nanoscience research communities were represented from 1–3 September 2009 in the Beijing International Convention Center, China, where over 1500 delegates gathered for the third biennial ChinaNano conference. Organised by the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST), the meeting was intended to stimulate discussions on the forefront of research in nanoscience and nanotechnology. As a journal published in collaboration with NCNST, and with similar intentions to showcase high quality nanoscience research, it was apt that Nanoscale should hold its launch reception as part of this prestigious meeting

Attended by several hundred delegates, the custom-made giant Nanoscale cake proved to be a very popular addition to the event! Attendees were also able to meet Nanoscale Editor-in-Chief for Asia and Director of NCNST, Professor Chunli Bai, as well as the Editor-in-Chief for Europe, Markus Niederberger and Managing Editor Philip Earis. In his welcome address, Professor Chunli Bai thanked everyone for attending and encouraged them to continue supporting Nanoscale in the future.

Delegates enjoying the Nanoscale cake at our launch reception, Beijing, September 2009

Showcasing diverse research

Nanoscale is a platform for high-quality work, as can be seen from the range of articles in our first few issues. From the computational modelling of structures to the use of nanoparticles for drug delivery, and from the synthesis of novel nanocomposites to the study of embryonic development, we are truly committed to representing all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology. We also publish many different types of article: Communications, Opinions, Review Articles, Mini Reviews, Feature Articles and original research papers. For a snapshot of the diverse work we have already published, see Table 1, which lists our most-accessed articles so far.

Table 1 Some of Nanoscale's most-accessed articles

Title	Article type	DOI	Authors
Mechanised nanoparticles for drug delivery	Review	10.1039/b9nr00162j	J. Fraser Stoddart et al.
Multimodal drug delivery using gold nanoparticles	Feature Article	10.1039/b9nr00112c	Chae-kyu Kim et al.
The new future of scanning probe microscopy: Combining atomic force microscopy with other surface-sensitive techniques, optical microscopy and fluorescence techniques	Review	10.1039/b9nr00156e	Susana Moreno Flores and José L. Toca-Herrera
Random walk of single gold nanoparticles in zebrafish embryos leading to stochastic toxic effects on embryonic developments	Paper	10.1039/b9nr00053d	Lauren M. Browning et al.
Selective generation of single-walled carbon nanotubes with metallic, semiconducting and other unique electronic properties	Mini Review	10.1039/b9nr00104b	C. N. R. Rao et al.
Self-healing at the nanoscale	Mini Review	10.1039/b9nr00146h	Vincenzo Amendola and Moreno Meneghetti
What amount of metallic impurities in carbon nanotubes is small enough not to dominate their redox properties?	Paper	10.1039/b9nr00071b	Martin Pumera and Yuji Miyahara
Polymer hydrogel capsules: en route toward synthetic cellular systems	Mini Review	10.1039/b9nr00143c	Frank Caruso et al.
Real-time monitoring of lipid transfer between vesicles and hybrid bilayers on Au nanoshells using surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)	Communication	10.1039/b9nr00063a	Naomi J. Halas et al.
Computational strategies for predicting the potential risks associated with nanotechnology	Mini Review	10.1039/b9nr00154a	Amanda S. Barnard

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Themed issues

Continuing on the topic of building great content, high-profile themed issues will be regular occurrence for Nanoscale. Focusing on emerging and rapidly developing fields of nanoscience, these special issues will involve Guest Editors who are experts in their field. They will give up-to-date overviews of particular research areas and provide a platform for the presentation and discussion of new research.

Our first themed issue will be Doped Nanostructures, Guest Edited by Professor Stephen Pearton from the University of Florida. Other future topics include Crystallization and Formation Mechanisms of Nanostructures and Surface Nanotechnology for Biological Applications.

We believe that Nanoscale themed issues will be of great value to nanoscience research communities and that they will have a lasting impact on the field, by highlighting the most important aspects of nanoscience.

Submit your work

As we look to maintain the great content of Nanoscale, we actively welcome high-quality submissions for the coming issues of the journal. We are already receiving manuscripts from leading researchers, so why not join them and send us your best work? All published articles will be free-to-access for all, and will receive significant exposure and promotion. We are happy to give authors free copies of the print issue in which their article appears, as well as sending copies to other suggested researchers in the field.

Authors will benefit from the rigorous peer-review system and rapid publication times for which the RSC is well known. We are happy to print figures in colour, free of charge, when the use of colour enhances scientific understanding. Additionally, colour can be provided in the online version of the journal at no cost in both pdf and html versions. We believe in making things as simple as possible for authors, and therefore receive our submissions through an online interface which is easily accessible from our website: www.rsc.org/nanoscale.

Connect with Nanoscale

We encourage all our readers to keep up to date with the latest news from Nanoscale by connecting with us online.

Nanoscale is now on Facebook and Twitter, and we encourage you to visit our official pages.† By becoming a Facebook fan or Twitter follower, you can keep track of the latest articles published online, and share relevant news, images and videos. You can use the page to find out about upcoming events and, of course, connect with fellow researchers.

You can also stay up to date with the most recent research being published in Nanoscale by signing up for our free monthly newsletter, Nanoscale Newsbites, and Table of Contents alerts at www.rsc.org/alerts.

To find our more about how you can engage with Nanoscale around the web, bookmark the homepage at www.rsc.org/nanoscale.

Free online access

Nanoscale is published on a not-for-profit basis, and to maximise the visibility of work published in this new journal, each month the current issue of Nanoscale is freely available online to all users until the end of 2010. Free institutional online access to all 2009 and 2010 Nanoscale content is also available following registration. Make sure you don't miss out by completing our online registration form at http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/Journals/free_access_registration.asp.

Major new symposium announced

The International Symposia on Advancing the Chemical Sciences (ISACS) is a significant new global symposia series supporting the launch of the new RSC flagship journal Chemical Science. During 2010, the first three symposia will be held on three continents, over three sequential weeks, focusing on the distinct subject areas. Challenges in Physical Chemistry and Nanoscience (ISACS2) will be held 13–16 July 2010, in Budapest, Hungary.

You can find out more about the exceptional speaker line-up, sign up for news updates and submit poster abstracts at www.rsc.org/isacs2.

Looking to the future

I hope you enjoy reading the articles in this issue of Nanoscale, and can see that the journal is beginning to take shape as a resource which enhances the wide range of research communities it serves. We always appreciate your feedback and suggestions—please contact us at mailto:nanoscale-rsc@rsc.org with your thoughts and ideas.

It is the support of the members of our Editorial and Advisory Boards, our authors, referees, and readers which has given Nanoscale such a flourishing start—we look forward to building on this success with you in the future.

With best wishes for the New Year

Vibhuti Patel

Development Editor, Nanoscale

Philip Earis

Managing Editor, Nanoscale

News from RSC Publishing

New integrated content delivery platform

RSC Publishing is proud to announce the launch of our powerful new content delivery platform that supports multiple content types. Powered by the industry's leading MarkLogic Server, and benefiting from the interactive browsing functionality offered by RSC's enhanced html mark-up technology, the platform delivers exceptionally fast and precise results. Users can now search 165 years of world-class RSC-hosted content including 20 000 book chapters, 300 000 journal articles and 450 000 database records from a single, simple search. Designed around readers' preferences (identified from a detailed and ongoing user-interview process), our user-friendly platform offers faster browsing, intelligent searching, consistent user experience irrespective of content type sought, and simpler more intuitive navigation. We'll be releasing even more exciting functionality later in the year. Please tell us what you think at mailto:rscpublishing@rsc.org

ChemSpider

Last year RSC acquired ChemSpider, the richest single source of structure based chemistry information freely available online, with fast searching of over 21.5 million chemical structures. Alongside the powerful database, the ChemSpider development team brings well over 40 years of additional cheminformatics experience to the RSC, including a chemistry centric document markup system capable of finding chemical names and converting to chemical structures and linking to online resources. Integration of this technology with the RSC's existing award-winning enhanced html mark-up technology, RSC Prospect, will lead to substantial enhancements in semantic enrichment for the chemical sciences. Find out more at www.chemspider.com

Continued e-alert success in 2010

2009 saw the launch of the new RSC journal e-alerts; in 2010 we are hoping to see a continued rise in their popularity. The e-alerts are packed with information and links enabling readers to easily view content as soon as it's published, helping them to stay abreast of journal content. The new e-alert registration system has been designed so readers can manage their own subscriptions, tailoring the information they receive and giving them the freedom to unsubscribe at any point. You can find out more information online: www.rsc.org/alerts

New for 2010: The RSC eBook Subject Collections

In response to readers needs and testament to the innovation of RSC Publishing, we are pleased to announce the launch of new the RSC eBook Subject Collections.

The nine new RSC eBook Subject Collections, including a Tutorial Chemistry Texts and Paperbacks package, deliver the high-quality content contained in our books into subject-specialist packages. With new content being uploaded throughout the year, the new RSC eBook Subject Collections are set to become another key, premier resource. To find out more, please visit www.rsc.org/ebooks

High-impact publishing

Publication of the 2008 impact factors, calculated by ISI, once again brought good news for authors and readers of RSC journals. Nearly all the RSC journals increased in impact factor, immediacy index and article influence, with an impressive average impact factor increase of 8.2%. Overall, the average impact factor for the RSC portfolio now stands at 4.7, equal to that of the ACS collection.

The average impact factor for the RSC portfolio, compared with the ACS collection and chemistry journals overall.

RSC journals feature in the top 10 rankings (by impact factor and immediacy index) in six of the seven core chemistry categories as listed on ISI, and of the top 100 chemistry journals, ranked by impact factor, 15 are from RSC Publishing. 2009 also saw a 75% increase in the number of articles published in RSC Journals compared to 2007. Not only are the RSC's impact factors leading the way in the chemical sciences, but there are a wider variety of articles available for you to choose from.

Chemical Science

This new flagship journal will launch in mid-2010, and will publish findings of exceptional significance from across all the chemical sciences. Editor-in-Chief Professor David MacMillan of Princeton leads a dynamic international team of Associate Editors responsible for the scientific development of the journal. Free institutional online access to the entire 2010 and 2011 content of Chemical Science will be automatically provided to all existing customers.

Keep in touch with the latest news at www.rsc.org/chemicalscience

Free access available for all new RSC journals

Free institutional online access is available for all our newest journals. Access, which is managed by institution and IP address, is provided following a simple registration process. Make sure you and your colleagues don't miss out on the free access by filling in the registration form: www.rsc.org/free_access_registration

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Footnote

† Nanoscale official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nanoscale/260036845356%3Fref%3Dmf, Nanoscale official Twitter page: http://twitter.com/nanoscale_rsc

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