TrAC has an interdisciplinary readership which includes scientists in industry, academia and service laboratories, as well as teachers and students in analytical chemistry. Its aim is to publish concise reviews covering the latest advances in analytical chemistry. Recent trends and developments, problems (and their solutions), limitations and potentials of the topic under are all part of the scope. Reviews should be interpretative rather than comprehensive but not unfairly biased towards the work of any particular laboratories. They should be written in such a way that they allow the non-specialist to understand the principles and applications of the topic. Consequently, articles should be broadly based and practically oriented. The use of specialised terms should be kept to a minimum, and explained fully in the text or in a glossary when used.
Reviews should consist of about 3000–4000 words and include at least 4 figures, and a number of tables. References should be limited to 50 and should include other reviews and recent articles which readers can use to pursue their interest in the topic.
Primary research papers with the traditional Introduction, Experimental, Result & Discussion, Conclusions type format are not part of the scope.
The inclusion of figures in the articles is encouraged. However, duplication or overlap with material in the text should be avoided. If figures are taken from previous publications it is the responsibility of the author to obtain the necessary written permission from the publisher concerned.
Graphics files are encouraged. However, as we cannot yet guarantee that we can process all formats, hard copy printouts of the illustrations should be submitted with the manuscript.
Submit original drawings (or sharp glossy prints) of graphs and diagrams. If structures are given in the text, original drawings must be provided. All lines, lettering and numbering should be sharp and unbroken. Design illustrations to fit the width of one column (8.4 cm) or a whole page (17.6 cm). Letters and symbols should be in proportion to the figure. Avoid large bold-type letters/symbols. Note that the size of the figure may be diminished and so will the size of letters and symbols. It is often appropriate to design illustrations to a width of 17.6 cm, which can stand a reduction of 50%. Label ordinates and abscissas of graphs along the axes and outside the graph proper. Supply glossy prints of photographs. Sharp contrasts are essential. Label each figure on the back with the name of the corresponding author and the figure number. Number all figures consecutively with Arabic numerals in order of reference in the text.
The costs of having illustrations printed in colour must be met by the authors. For a price quotation, please contact d.coleman@elsevier.nl with details regarding size, number of colour illustrations and whether they can be included on one page. It is possible to have these printed in grayscale with the colour illustrations stored in a file on the TrAC home page on the WWW at no cost to the author provided the illustrations are received in a common, directly usable format such as tiff, jpg, gif, bmp, etc.
Include, on one page, a list of all captions and legends for illustration. Make the legend a part of the caption rather than inserting it within the figure. Keep captions as brief as possible and include detailed information in the text.
Tables should be prepared in a consistent form. Furnish each with an appropriate title and number (Arabic) consecutively in the order of reference in the text. Type each table on a separate page, and collate at end of manuscript.
Contributions to TrAC are not generally intended to provide detailed literature reviews. Not more than 30 references should be given, listed at the end and indicated in the text by numbers in brackets. If reference is made in the text to publications written by more than two authors, the name of the first author should be followed by "et al." However, all authors should be mentioned in the list of references. References should be listed in the order in which they appear in the text. In the reference list, periodicals [1], books [2], multi-author books [3] and proceedings [4] should be cited in accordance with the following examples:
The following format should be adhered to:
Abbreviations for the titles of journals should follow the style used by Chemical Abstracts.
TrAC reserves the right to edit, shorten or decline publication of all submitted articles. Authors will be consulted regarding major alterations to the text before printing.
Galley proofs will be supplied to the authors of review articles, but no alterations other than the correction of printer's errors can be made at the proof stage.
Articles are accepted on the understanding that permission to reproduce copyrighted material has been requested from the author and the publisher. Submission of an article for publication in Trends in Analytical Chemistry is understood to imply that the article is original and unpublished and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. Upon acceptance of an article by the journal, authors will be asked to transfer the copyright of the article to the publishers.
For articles appearing in the Trends or Feature sections, the senior author will receive:
25 reprints are provided to the corresponding author.
Editorial Office address:
Trends in Analytical Chemistry
P.O. Box 330
1000 AH Amsterdam
Telephone ext. (31)20-485-2784
Fax (31)20-485-2845
E-Mail: d.coleman@elsevier.nl
For Courier Service:
Trends in Analytical Chemistry
Molenwerf 1
1014 AG Amsterdam
The Netherlands