All manuscripts submitted to “Biomaterials Connect” are processed exclusively through our online submission system (https://scifiniti.jams.pub/login). The corresponding author is responsible for submitting the manuscript and will coordinate with the Editorial Office throughout the manuscript processing. Before submitting the manuscript, the corresponding author should ensure that authorship criteria, as suggested by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and COPE, have been followed for all listed authors.
Before submitting your manuscript to “Biomaterials Connect”, please ensure the following:
Biomaterials Connect offers authors a range of options for submitting articles of various types. The following is a brief description of these article types:
Editorials that are non-scientific in nature, including prefaces, welcome messages, issue introductions, journal announcements, and thematic issue introductions, are generally not subject to external peer review. Instead, these contributions undergo an internal editorial assessment to ensure their relevance, clarity, accuracy, ethical compliance, and overall suitability for publication.
However, editorials that contain substantive scientific, technical, clinical, policy-related, methodological, or evidence-based discussion are subject to independent external peer review. Where an editorial is submitted by the Editor-in-Chief, Guest Editor, or another member of the editorial team, the manuscript is handled by an independent editor or Editorial Board Member with no conflict of interest, and the submitting editor is excluded from the decision-making process.
The usual word count is approximately 1,000–1,500 words, with references generally limited to 10–15. The structure of an editorial includes a title, an abstract (optional), an introduction, discussion points, a conclusion, a list of abbreviations (if any), an author contribution statement, acknowledgments, funding information, and a conflict of interest statement, if applicable.
The corresponding author is required to submit a cover letter during manuscript submission, providing brief details about the significance of the manuscript. In this cover letter, the corresponding author on behalf of other authors, will confirm that the manuscript is an original submission, not in process, submitted, or published in any other journal. Furthermore, the cover letter should also assert that all authors agree regarding authorship, and there are no disputes among the authors. Please also specify if there are any potential conflicts of interest or if you have any concerns over the journal policy.
Authors must obtain written consent from any individual whose details, images, or videos are used in the manuscript, before publication under Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0. If an individual is under 18, their parents or legal guardians must be contacted for consent to publish their data. Personal identifiers, such as names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be disclosed in the manuscript unless it is indispensable for scientific purposes.
In cases where an individual has passed away, it is necessary to seek consent for publication from their immediate family or next of kin. The manuscript should incorporate a declaration confirming that written informed consent for publication has been secured.
As a scientific publisher, we maintain a strong commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity, objectivity, and transparency in the dissemination of scientific knowledge. We recognize the importance of managing potential conflicts of interest to safeguard the integrity of the research and scholarly content we publish. Authors are strongly recommended to disclose any potential conflict of interest in their manuscripts under the section “Conflicts of Interest”. For more details, please review the Conflicts of Interest section.
Authors are required to disclose all sources of funding in a separate "Funding" section of the manuscript. This includes grants, scholarships, sponsorships, or any financial contributions. Details such as the name of the funding agency, grant number, and specific requirements set by the funding body should be clearly stated.
The following are a few examples to disclose funding information:
Please add an acknowledgment section at the end of the manuscript before the reference section. Please acknowledge those who have contributed to the manuscript, particularly in language editing, writing support, and proofreading services, and also mention if AI tools were used.
Scifiniti Journals follow the ACS reference style. Please consider the following important guidelines when citing sources:
ACS Reference Style:
The ACS style adheres to a citation-sequence system, where the references in the final section of your paper are numerically ordered in the same sequence as they are cited in your text. This system differs from the conventional method of arranging references alphabetically by author.
Reference Citations Within Text:
In the text section of the manuscript, references should be cited numerically, placed in italics, and listed in sequential order. When a reference is cited at multiple locations within the text, it should retain the same number assigned to it upon its initial mention, and no new number should be assigned. If more than one reference number is cited at a single location, these numbers should be presented in ascending order and separated by commas.
Examples:
The preferred file format for submitting manuscripts is Microsoft Word in either DOC or DOCX format. Editable files are necessary for the review and production process. If you initially submit a non-editable file, you will be required to resubmit your manuscript in a Word file.
Points to consider:
Equations should be inserted in editable format from the equation editor.
Gene symbols should be italicized, and only approved gene nomenclature should be used. It is recommended to follow the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) for human genes. While reporting, you may include common alternative gene aliases; however, it is important to note that these aliases should not be used independently as substitutes for the HGNC symbol.
Chemical compounds and biomolecules should be denoted using systematic nomenclature, preferably following the guidelines outlined by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The mathematical notations, units of measurement, chemical and physical quantities should be reported in the International System of Units (SI).
In manuscripts containing mathematical equations, authors should ensure that these equations are provided in editable form, preferably generated from the equation editor, and should be integrated within the normal text flow whenever possible.
When expressing fractional terms, please use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line (e.g., X/Y). Variables should be formatted in italics. When indicating powers of 'e,' it is preferred to use 'exp.' Additionally, please assign consecutive numbers to any equations that need to be displayed separately from the text if they are explicitly referred to in the manuscript.
Authors are strongly encouraged to use and cite their own original figures, as this not only adds unique value to the study but also aligns with our ethical guidelines and supports academic integrity. However, if reproduced figures are used, they must strictly adhere to the requirements outlined in the Image Manipulation section of our Ethical Guidelines. In such cases, authors must obtain approval from the original copyright holder if figures are reproduced from any published content. Please include the copyright release documentation with your submission.
Figures should be placed in proximity to the corresponding text, rather than at the beginning or end of the document. Citation of figures in the text section should be in sequential order.
Figures with multiple parts should be submitted as a single file containing all parts of the figures (a, b, c, etc.), and the size of each figure must not exceed 10 MB. If you are using a graph, then make labels including units that should be given for each axis.
If the manuscript is submitted in LaTeX, figures should be included in the compiled PDF. "After paper acceptance, separate figures might be required for production purposes".
Please note that if any figures are reproduced from previously published content, authors must obtain permission from the original copyright holder, including those originating from their own prior work. The journal may accept or reject such figures based on compliance with these guidelines.
For Vector drawings, please provide EPS or PDF.
It is recommended to prepare chemical structures in CDX (ChemDraw).
Please do not:
Authors may submit supplementary material along with the article. These supplementary materials play a crucial role in enhancing the content of the articles, providing readers with valuable resources and additional information.
For manuscripts with innovative or substantial methodology sections, we encourage the inclusion of supplementary online materials. These materials can include:
Additionally, images, sound clips, and method applications can be included to further enrich your work.
If any changes are necessary for the provided supplementary file, please submit a completely new file rather than providing a correction list or annotating corrections on the previous version. It's important to note that supplementary files are published as provided, and no formatting is applied from the Publisher's side.
A section with the heading 'Supportive/Supplementary Material' preceding the reference section should encompass information on supplementary material. This section should include captions and descriptions for each file, outlining its content.
Please note that supplementary material will not be integrated into the manuscript but will be linked on our website in the same format as provided by the author.
It is crucial to ensure that each additional file represents a single table, figure, or movie. Please refrain from uploading linked worksheets or PDF files larger than one sheet. All supportive or supplementary materials should be consolidated into a single zipped file, not exceeding 4 MB in size. For data sheets, we recommend using Word, Excel, CSV, CDX, FASTA, PDF, or Zip formats. Presentations are best provided in PowerPoint, PDF, or Zip files. Images can be submitted in CDX, JPEG, EPS, TIFF, or PNG formats.
If supplementary audio files are included, kindly provide them in MP3 format, and for videos, use MOV, MPG, AVI, or MPEG formats. Supplementary images must be in 300 DPI, and RGB color mode should be utilized.
Before submitting manuscripts, we recommend that authors have their work reviewed by a native English speaker or avail themselves of professional language editing services to minimize the risk of rejection due to language inconsistencies. Manuscripts with substantial language issues may be returned for revision prior to peer review and will be returned to the author with a recommendation for correction before further consideration in the publication process. Authors are encouraged to utilize professional editing services to address language inconsistencies and errors in their manuscripts.
The copyrights of articles published in Biomaterials Connect are retained by the authors. Upon manuscript submission, authors grant the publisher a license to publish their article as the original publisher. Articles are published under CC BY 4.0, allowing unrestricted use of the article provided proper attribution is given to the copyright holder. For further details, please review our Copyright Policy.
When documenting research that involves human subjects, human materials, human tissues, or human data, it is imperative for authors to state that the research adhered to the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki of 1975 (revised in 2013). More information about the Declaration of Helsinki can be found at https://www.wma.net/what-we-do/medical-ethics/declaration-of-helsinki/.
According to point 23 of this declaration, “The research protocol must be submitted for consideration, comment, guidance, and approval to the concerned research ethics committee before the study begins. This committee must be transparent in its functioning, must be independent of the researcher, the sponsor, and any other undue influence, and must be duly qualified. It must take into consideration the laws and regulations of the country or countries in which the research is to be performed, as well as applicable international norms and standards, but these must not be allowed to reduce or eliminate any of the protections for research subjects outlined in this Declaration.
The committee must have the right to monitor ongoing studies. The researcher must provide monitoring information to the committee, especially information about any serious adverse events. No amendment to the protocol may be made without consideration and approval by the committee. After the end of the study, the researchers must submit a final report to the committee containing a summary of the study’s findings and conclusions.
Authors are recommended to provide a separate section for Human rights and mention clearly that research has been conducted by the Declaration of Helsinki, along with the identification code and name of the Ethics Committee that has approved the protocol.
We expect authors should follow the Animal Use Alternatives (3Rs) model while conducting any research that requires the use of animals. These new scientific approaches proposed by Drs. William Russell and Rex Burch, help to minimize to maintain scientific integrity by reducing the pain and distress of research animals.
We recommend authors follow the “Basel Declaration” which summarizes essential principles to follow when conducting research in animals. The International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS) has also published ethical guidelines that could help authors protect animal rights while conducting any research.
Authors are required to explicitly mention the name of the approval committee and reference number in their manuscript, emphasizing that they obtained both legal and ethical approval before commencing the research involving animals. Additionally, the authors must affirm that the experiments were conducted in strict adherence to the guidelines outlined below.
If ethical approval is exempted from any committee then this should also be mentioned in the manuscripts along with the name of the committee that grants exemption.
Scifiniti recommends that authors use ARRIVE guidelines for reporting research involving animals. Reviewers are also recommended to use CHECKLIST while reviewing a manuscript and provide their recommendations if the research is not in compliance with any of the points mentioned in the checklist.
For in vivo experiments, visit https://arriveguidelines.
Experimental research on plants must be conducted in compliance with relevant guidelines published by the IUCN Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Authors are advised to provide ethical statements, including the name and source of the plant used during research.
Example: Solanum tubersum was used in conducting research, which was provided by Dr. (XYZ), affiliation, City, Country.
To support reproducibility, voucher specimens of rare and non-model plants must be deposited in a publicly accessible herbarium, public museum or another public repository. These vouchers should include documentation of specific parts of the plants which are used in the research, details of the geographical coordinates of the collection site and the collection date.
If a research involves the use of cell lines then authors should mention the origin in the methods section of their manuscript. If an author has used established cell lines ,then the source and reference of the published article should be mentioned. For previously unpublished de novo cell lines, details of the ethical committee and approval should be mentioned in the manuscript. Informed consent must be taken in cases where human cell lines are used.
Example: The HaCaT cell lines were provided by XYZ
For misidentification and contamination of human cell lines, please International Cell Line Authentication Committee (ICLAC) and NCBI database.
For use, ISSCR Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation should be followed for reporting experiments on human embryos, gametes and embryonic stem cells.
Unidentified Images
For unidentified images like X-rays, ultrasound images, etc., no consent for publication is needed.
For further details, ICMJE recommendations for “Protection of Research Participants”.
Authors are advised to follow ‘Sex and Gender Equity in Research – SAGER – guidelines’. Authors should ensure that the terms sex (referring to a biological attribute) and gender (influenced by social and cultural factors) are used carefully to avoid confusion in the two terms. In the introduction, authors should consider discussing the potential presence of sex and/or gender differences. Furthermore, they should detail the methods used to address sex and/or gender in the study's design and present data separated by sex and/or gender when it is relevant. Authors should also analyze and present results specific to each sex and/or gender group. If the study did not include a sex and/or gender analysis, the authors should provide a justification in the discussion. We recommend that our authors refer to the comprehensive guidelines before submitting their work.
Authors are expected to follow the COPE Citation Policy when citing articles in their manuscripts. Manipulation of citations by authors, reviewers, and editors is strictly prohibited.
Authors should avoid artificially inflating their citations by including an excessive number of their own articles or those of colleagues and friends. Nonetheless, if an author is referencing their previously published work, which is relevant, it is essential to provide a proper citation to prevent potential issues of self-plagiarism or redundancy.
Authors are advised against extensively citing articles published in the same journal where they intend to publish their own work.
Editors and reviewers are strongly encouraged to refrain from suggesting irrelevant articles to authors as a means to boost their own or the journal’s citation counts.