Editorial: Twenty‐Five Years Later…

Abstract

The inaugural issue of Electroanalysis was published in January 1989, and this year marks the 25th volume of the journal. As the Founding Editor and Editor-in-Chief over this quarter of a century, I am very pleased with where the journal has come from, and where it is going. Electroanalysis was launched in 1989 in response to a growing need within the electrochemical and analytical communities. In the late 1980s, I came into discussions with Dr. Martin Grayson (Figure 1), President of VCH Publishers at the time, following the publication of my book Stripping Analysis with VCH in 1985. We recognized the tremendous activity and major advances that had been taking shape in the field of electroanalytical chemistry – particularly in the areas of chemically modified electrodes, electrochemical biosensors, ultramicroelectrodes, ionophore-based potentiometric sensors, and electrochemical flow detectors for HPLC and flow-injection analysis – and were convinced that a new journal dedicated to this discipline would help fill a gap in the scientific literature. It was our goal to meet the growing demands in the electroanalysis community, and to create a highest-quality publication forum for both fundamental and applied aspects of electroanalysis that would serve as a vital communication medium between research scientists. Joseph Wang (left) in discussion with Martin Grayson at the VCH Publishers exhibition booth during the 195th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Toronto, 1988. When Electroanalysis first appeared, it featured a combination of timely review articles and research papers. It was important that the journal always exemplify a very high standard of quality, starting right from the first issue. The thirteen articles comprising the inaugural issue included six top articles from Editorial Board members or Regional Editors, and the very first published paper was an excellent Review Article from the laboratory of Alan Bond (Deakin University, Australia, at the time), who was a member of the original Editorial Board. His Review Article, titled “ESR-Electrochemical Cells and Their Performance in Studies of Redox Processes”, and the other articles in Issue 1 helped to set the standard for Electroanalysis for the years to come. Upon publication of the inaugural issue, the journal was taken up quickly by the electroanalytical community, as was evident by the rapid growth in submissions. Volume 1 of Electroanalysis contained 6 issues and 563 pages in 1989. Already in the next volume, in 1990, we responded to the increase in manuscript flow by raising the publication frequency from six issues to eight issues while further elevating our selection criteria. One of the aspects that helped Electroanalysis to become a success story is that it was set up on a foundation of international cooperation. From its initial launch, the journal had two Regional Editors, Prof. Gaston J. Patriarche in Belgium and Dr. T. Mark Florence in Australia, and myself as Editor-in-Chief in the USA. We were supported by an Editorial Board consisting of nine members who represented seven different countries. The Editorial Board has since grown to 31 members who are active in all corners of the world. The members of the Editorial Board not only continue to help set the scientific standards for the journal with regular article contributions, but also serve as ambassadors of the journal in the community and are called upon to referee individual papers or offer critical advice on difficult cases. The internationality of Electroanalysis is reflected not only in its Board but also in its authorship and readership. Electroanalysis has experienced a remarkably fast growth in submissions and has established a well-rounded regional distribution of submitted articles. In response to both of these developments, we expanded the Editorial team in 2010 by inviting three renowned colleagues to serve as Associate Editors. Professors I-Ming Hsing (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), Arkady A. Karyakin (M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University), and José M. Pingarrón (Universidad Complutense de Madrid; Figure 2) had been involved with Electroanalysis in various capacities over the years – as frequent authors, as Guest Editors, and/or as Editorial Board members (see Figure 3). They have not only brought valuable expertise and innovative ideas to the journal as Associate Editors but have also expanded our global reach. The three Associate Editors and I currently handle the manuscripts with assignment based on the region of submission, and I continue to oversee the overall development of the journal. Working with such a solid team of editors additionally offers many opportunities for staying on top of trends in electroanalysis throughout the world while continually striving to push the scientific standards for publication in the journal. The Associate Editors of Electroanalysis. l to r: I-Ming Hsing, Arkady A. Karyakin, José M. Pingarrón. Gathering at the 2008 ESEAC meeting in Prague, with future Associate Editors Arkady A. Karyakin (third from left) and José M. Pingarrón (fourth from right) – both of whom were members of the Editorial Board at the time – and Publisher Carina Kniep (sixth from right). Other board members present are M. Smyth (with his wife), Z. Stojek, K. Stulik, J. M. Kaufmann, L. Gorton, E. Wang (with his wife Prof. S. Dong), and the host (ESEAC 2008 organizer) J. Barek, who is standing with P. Drašar. The success of Electroanalysis is not only guaranteed by the teamwork of the journal′s Editors and its Board members, but also through collaboration with the publishers. Further to the production support that is essential to keeping the journal running smoothly, the publication of Electroanalysis is additionally overseen hands-on by a PhD chemist who can offer advice and expertise from experience in journal publishing. This model has been in place for Electroanalysis already since the early 1990s. Dr. Eva E. Wille oversaw the transfer of Electroanalysis from VCH Publishers in New York to what is now Wiley-VCH in Weinheim. Dr. Peter Gregory (currently Editor-in-Chief of Advanced Materials and Publishing Director) was the publication manager of Electroanalysis at the time, and responsibility of the journal has since passed from Peter to Dr. Jörn Ritterbusch and then to Dr. Carina Kniep (see Figure 3), who worked closely with me on developing the journal for nine years. And starting from the 2012 ESEAC conference, Dr. Brian Johnson (Figure 4) is now responsible for the publication of Electroanalysis. The Editors work in close collaboration with Brian not only to assure that the top content is brought to you in a timely fashion, but also to develop the journal in light of the most interesting themes and widest visibility. ‘Do not disturb’: Editors at work. l to r: Managing Editor Brian Johnson, Associate Editor José Pingarrón and Joseph Wang captured in a light moment during a busy Editors meeting at the 2012 ESEAC conference in Portorož. Throughout the many exciting changes that Electroanalysis has witnessed over the past twenty-five years, one thing has guided us continuously: our commitment to publishing the very best in electroanalytical chemistry. This focus on quality has been mirrored by an ever-rising readership and impact. The electronic usage of the journal has nearly doubled over the past five years and includes a broad distribution of readers throughout the world. The growing importance of Electroanalysis is also reflected in its increasing Impact Factor. The most recent ISI Impact Factor of Electroanalysis (2.872 for 2011) represents a 6 % increase over that of 2010 and a 9 % increase over that of 2009, and confirms the leading position of the journal. Over the years we have published more than 5700 research papers and reviews that have been cited well over 86 000 times, corresponding to about 15 citations per paper. The all-time most-cited papers in Electroanalysis include contributions from throughout the world, and the top-ten list (Table 1) shows strong support from past and present members of the Board. To provide greater service to our authors, we have placed more focus on lowering our publication times, which have been greatly reduced to less than three months for EarlyView publication from time of submission. Title Author(s) Year Vol. Pages Carbon-Nanotube Based Electrochemical Biosensors: A Review J. Wang 2005 17 7–14 Probing Biomolecular Interactions at Conductive and Semiconductive Surfaces by Impedance Spectroscopy: Routes to Impedimetric Immunosensors, DNA-Sensors, and Enzyme Biosensors E. Katz, I. Willner 2003 15 913–947 Sensors Based on Carbon-Paste in Electrochemical Analysis – A Review with Particular Emphasis on the Period 1990–1993 K. Kalcher, J.-M. Kauffmann, J. Wang, I. Švancara, K. Vytřas, C. Neuhold, Z. Yang 1995 7 5–22 Carbon-Paste Electrodes Modified with Enzymes, Tissues, and Cells L. Gorton 1995 7 23–45 Electroanalytical and Bioelectroanalytical Systems Based on Metal and Semiconductor Nanoparticles E. Katz, I. Willner, J. Wang 2004 16 19–44 Self-Assembled Monolayers into the 21st Century: Recent Advances and Applications J. J. Gooding, F. Mearns, W. Yang, J. Liu 2003 15 81–96 Electrochemical Sensors Based on Carbon Nanotubes Q. Zhao, Z. H. Gan, Q. K. Zhuang 2002 14 1609–1613 Chemically Modified Carbon Paste Electrodes in Voltametric Analysis K. Kalcher 1990 2 419–433 Prussian Blue and Its Analogues: Electrochemistry and Analytical Applications A. A. Karyakin 2001 13 813–819 From Polarography of DNA to Microanalysis with Nucleic Acid-Modified Electrodes E. Palecek 1996 8 7–14 In 2013 we will focus on maintaining and improving our high standards, and on promoting creativity and high quality. Special emphasis will be given to new advances and innovations, reflecting the latest trends in electroanalytical chemistry. We will continue with our successful series of special issues, including this very issue which is based on the 2012 ESEAC conference that was excellently organized by Samo Hočevar and colleagues in Portorož, Slovenia (see the Guest Editorial in the following pages). In the coming months we will also be publishing a special issue on French Electroanalysis and an issue dedicated to the 80th birthday of Professor Erkang Wang (P. R. China), who has served on our Editorial Board for over two decades. We look forward to continuing to receive your best research and review articles dealing with all aspects of modern electroanalysis. I take this opportunity, also on behalf of the Associate Editors, to express my sincere gratitude to all those who have played a part in the success of the Electroanalysis over its first quarter of a century, including all our authors and readers, dedicated referees and Board members, and the wonderful production staff and publishing team at Wiley-VCH. We are proud to celebrate twenty-five years of achievements, and thank you all for contributing to this success. Looking towards the next 25 years! 1 Joseph Wang Editor-in-Chief