Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry

Organic synthesis

We welcome important research in all areas of organic synthesis, including studies on small organic molecules and biomolecules, and studies that report purely synthetic work without biological data. Total or multistep syntheses should report new or improved strategies or methods, or a more efficient route to the target compound.

Methodology studies should show a significant improvement on known methods. Research that extends the known methodology to a different class of compounds is generally not suitable unless that class is significantly different in scope to previously reported methodology. Where methods are directed towards a narrow range of structures, the importance of these targets must be clearly justified.

Physical and theoretical organic chemistry

We welcome studies that report new models of reactivity, selectivity, bonding or structure, or new computational methods and have relevance for the design of subsequent experiments. That relevance should be clearly justified in the paper. Relevance is perhaps most clearly demonstrated by the description of testable predictions derived from the results of the reported theoretical work; the tests of these predictions could be contained in the same paper in which the predictions are described. Computational research that merely reproduces experimental data is not suitable for OBC.

Chemical biology

We welcome articles that report new or improved methodologies in the chemical aspects of chemical biology, including design, development and use of chemical tools, chemical studies of biomolecules such as carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acids or biological processes such as protein-protein interactions and epigenetics, and chemical methods such as imaging and labelling techniques.

Catalysis

We welcome studies on catalysis, including metal catalysis, organocatalysis, and biocatalysis, which present a significant organic chemistry advance. The application of a new catalyst to a known reaction must present a significant methodological advance. However, studies showcasing routine modification in the catalyst structure for a known reaction or the preparation of a compound library by a known catalytic reaction followed by routine photophysical or biological studies are typically not suitable.

Theoretical studies that provide significant new mechanistic insights into synthetic or biological catalysts are welcome. Routine biochemistry studies of catalytic mechanisms, for instance, routine studies using tools such as site-directed mutagenesis, are not typically suitable.

Supramolecular, macromolecular and organic materials

We welcome studies that report important new work in the molecular design of supramolecular or macromolecular compounds or organic materials either with a strong component in organic synthesis or with novel organic structural features. You may wish to consider our materials journals for articles outside this scope.

Sensors

We publish articles describing sensors for ions and/or molecules provided that they

• address targets and situations of practical relevance and
• represent significant and demonstrable improvements on previous methodology

In particular, sensors for species in artificial surroundings (for example, hydrophilic ions in organic solvents) will not typically be acceptable for publication.

Medicinal chemistry

We welcome studies that report significant synthetic or bioorganic research that is directed towards medicinal chemistry applications. Studies that show routine syntheses accompanied by biological testing are generally not suitable for OBC. Our companion journal, RSC Medicinal Chemistry, is more suitable for articles that report significant research in core medicinal chemistry disciplines.

Natural products

We welcome articles that report new and interesting syntheses of natural products (see Organic Synthesis guidelines above) or chemical studies of biosynthetic pathways. Isolation or identification studies are welcome when the compound being reported

• has a novel structural class with unreported carbon skeleton, unusual functional groups or unusual modifications and/or
• displays a potent or unexpected biological activity or an unexpected mechanism of action.

Routine isolation studies are not suitable for OBC.

Communications

Urgent accounts of highly-important new research. No strict page limit but generally up to five journal pages in length. Research findings should be presented in a succinct and informative way, emphasising the importance and potential impact of the research.

Authors are particularly encouraged to prepare a title and abstract which concisely summarise the key findings of their research and their importance, avoiding the use of non-standard abbreviations, acronyms and symbols, as this will enable potential readers to quickly understand the significance of the research. Authors should also consider using recognisable, searchable terms, as around 70% of our readers come directly via search engines. The table of contents graphic should give the reader a clear indication of the topic of the study, eg by showing key compounds.

Full papers

Full accounts of important original research. Full papers may be an expansion of work previously published in a Communication; however, the new work reported must represent a significant extension on what was previously published.

The importance and potential impact of the research should be emphasised. Authors are particularly encouraged to prepare a title and abstract which concisely summarise the key findings of their research and their importance, avoiding the use of non-standard abbreviations, acronyms and symbols, as this will enable potential readers to quickly understand the significance of the research. Authors should also consider using recognisable, searchable terms, as around 70% of our readers come directly via search engines. The table of contents graphic should give the reader a clear indication of the topic of the study, eg by showing key compounds.

Reviews

Concise and critical reviews of important or emerging topics in organic chemistry. Easy to read and covering current areas of interest, rather than comprehensive reviews of the literature. Download our author guidelines for Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry Reviews (PDF).

Comments

Comments and Replies are a medium for the discussion and exchange of scientific opinions between authors and readers concerning material published in Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry.

For publication, a Comment should present an alternative analysis of and/or new insight into the previously published material. Any Reply should further the discussion presented in the original article and the Comment. Comments and Replies that contain any form of personal attack are not suitable for publication. 

Comments that are acceptable for publication will be forwarded to the authors of the work being discussed, and these authors will be given the opportunity to submit a Reply. The Comment and Reply will both be subject to rigorous peer review in consultation with the journal’s Editorial Board where appropriate. The Comment and Reply will be published together.

Data and supporting information

Characterisation of compounds

OBC has minimum characterisation data requirements for i) new compounds, and ii) known compounds that have been synthesised by a new method. These requirements are described below.

There is no requirement to provide characterisation data for the synthesis of a known compound by a literature method; in these cases authors should provide a literature reference to previously published characterisation data for that compound. However, authors are welcome to provide details of improved experimental protocols, more detailed characterisation data, or selected data from known compounds.

Organic compounds

Data required for both new compounds and known compounds synthesised by a new method
Copies of ¹H NMR spectra (which contain no more than trace peaks that are not assigned to the structure in question) should be supplied as supplementary material. Spectra should be of high resolution and displayed in landscape, ideally with one spectrum per page.

Data required for new compounds only (in addition to the data specified above)
It is the responsibility of authors to provide fully convincing evidence for the homogeneity, purity and identity of all compounds they claim as new. This evidence is required to establish that the properties and constants reported are those of the compound with the new structure claimed. Referees will assess, as a whole, the evidence presented in support of the claims made by the authors.

The following are required in all cases:

• Complete numerical listings of ¹H,¹³C NMR peaks in support of the assigned structure
• Copies of ¹³C NMR spectra (containing no more than trace peaks that are not assigned to the structure in question) as supplementary material. Spectra should be of high resolution and displayed in landscape, ideally with one spectrum per page
• High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), with a found value within 0.003m/z unit of the calculated value of a parent-derived ion. Elemental analysis data may be provided if HRMS is not available.

The following are required in specific cases:

• Infrared spectra should be supplied to support functional group transformations when such data are chemically necessary to establish the transformations
• Specific rotation should be supplied for chiral non-racemic compounds when such data are chemically necessary or of intrinsically high importance for future researchers. Such data are expected when stereocenters are created or defined during asymmetric synthesis or catalysis
• The determination of enantiomeric excess of nonracemic, chiral substances should be supported with either GC/HPLC traces with retention times for both enantiomers and separation conditions (that is, chiral support, solvent and flow rate) or copies of the spectra for Mosher Ester/Chiral Shift Reagent analysis
• Copies of 2D NMR and related experiments (that is, NOE, etc) should be supplied as supplementary material in cases where these data are used to assign the structure
• Proof of absolute configuration should be supplied for chiral compounds. In cases where this is not available, a statement as to why this cannot be supplied should be included in the manuscript. For closely related structures assignment by analogy is acceptable if the configuration of one compound in the series is unambiguously assigned

In a small number of cases, some of the characterisation techniques which are normally required for new organic compounds may not be applicable or possible to obtain (for example, for some supramolecular systems). In these circumstances, the evidence for identity and purity will be judged on a case-by-case basis by the editor and referees.

Biomolecules (such as enzymes, peptides, proteins, DNA/RNA, oligosaccharides, oligonucleotides)

It is not possible to give hard and fast requirements for the characterisation of biomolecules as the applicability and availability of different techniques often depend on molecule type or size. In all cases, LC-MS or equivalent data (for example, HPLC data plus MS data on collected peaks) should be supplied for key synthetic intermediates, and as evidence of the purity and identity of the final compound.

Additional data, such as high field ¹H,¹³C NMR, X-ray crystallography or sequencing data (for proteins and oligonucleotides) may be provided if available. In some cases, authors may be required to provide some of this additional data if it is thought necessary by the referees.

For new derivatives comprising modified monomers, the usual organic chemistry analytical requirements for the novel monomer must be provided (see Organic compounds). It is not however necessary to provide this level of characterisation for the oligomer into which the novel monomer is incorporated.

Computational work

We ask that the following information be provided where possible:

• As a minimum, papers reporting QM work should include the atomic coordinates, energies, and number of imaginary frequencies for all computed stationary points.
• The level of theory used for computations should be mentioned in the text, and/or in the caption of the first figure that reports the results of those computations.
• Computational methodology should be described in sufficient detail to allow calculations to be reproduced by other researchers.
• Where calculations are performed with density functional theory, the integration grid used for the calculations should be specified.
• All relevant total energies (potential energies, enthalpies, Gibbs free energies, etc.) should be reported for each computed species.
• For transition states (TSs), the magnitude of the frequency of the imaginary vibrational mode may also be reported.
• For intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) calculations, any shoulders in the IRC plots should be noted. If IRC calculations reveal that a TS corresponded to a reaction pathway different from that suggested by simple animation of its imaginary mode, then the IRC results (plots and details of reactants/products) should be included in the Supplementary Information (SI). 
• Where computational work is included as part of a synthetic study, full details of any theoretical characterization (for example, computational NMR or VCD) of products and/or important synthetic intermediates should be documented.
• In the spirit of FAIR data, mol2 or pdb files for coordinates would also be welcomed.

Information about drawing structures or schemes

When drawing structures or schemes, authors should use the correct sizes and settings in order to maintain consistency. These graphics should ideally be created in ChemDraw and they should be supplied at the size you wish them to appear in print, using the same drawing settings for all structures.

Templates are available on our Author templates & services page to help you produce clear chemical structures from several drawing programs (for example, ChemDraw) and you may also use the article templates to see how figures will look in the final manuscript. Full guidance on presentation of structures and other graphics is available on our Author guidelines page.

When submitting an article which contains structures or schemes to OBC, authors should pay particular attention to the following key points:

• Graphic widths should be up to 8.3 cm (one-column) or 17.1 cm (two-column)
• Graphics should ideally be created to fit these widths to avoid articles containing large amounts of white space
• Graphic height should be a maximum of 23.3 cm
• Use solid or hatched wedges to depict stereochemistry
• It is important not to change the scale of a graphic to modify its width - this results in unevenly-sized graphics
• Recommended text size is Arial 7pt and bond lengths 0.43 cm

Submitting incorrectly-formatted files will result in a request from the handling editor to provide revised versions.

Manuscript submission information

On submission authors are asked to supply details of the two previously published articles most related to the submission-one from the author’s own group and one from the wider community. Authors are also asked to supply a very brief statement about the novelty and importance of the research. These pieces of information will assist editors and referees in the peer review process.