Journal profile · Immunology and Microbiology-Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Cell Surface
ISSN 2468-2330 · Elsevier · Netherlands
Cell Surface: CAS Zone 2 · Biology (2026 Xinrui edition); impact factor 9.3 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 3,220; median 50 days to acceptance (46 articles, last 24 months); 27 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Cell Surface is published by Elsevier and is classed under Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Polysaccharides and Plant Cell Walls, Antifungal resistance and susceptibility and Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity, together about 30% of its articles. Its main subfields are Plant Science and Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Cell Surface is a journal for research on all aspects of the cell wall and cell surfaces across relevant disciplines and organisms.The Cell Surface is a highly multidisciplinary journal focused on cell surface and cell walls, and the macromolecular landscape of organisms at and beyond the plasma membrane.The Cell Surface aims to bring together different communities to advance the knowledge of the cell surface, and specifically explores the interfaces between these disciplines, including:BacteriaFungiPlantsAlgaeOomycetesProtozoaWe publish articles dealing with basic and applied biology on the mechanisms of biosynthesis and degradation, function, structure, mechanical properties, regulation, genetics, cell biology, biochemistry, physico-chemistry, systems biology and physiology of the cell surface membrane and extracellular materials.Articles on medical, immunological, ecological, evolutionary or biotechnological, drug/vaccine discovery aspects of the properties of cell surface membranes and walls, extracellular matrix components are welcome, including articles that describe important technological and methodological platforms. We also encourage interdisciplinary articles than span disciplines, methodologies and classes of organism.Taking into account the trans-kingdom nature of journal, authors are encouraged to provide a broad context to their studies in the Introductory section of their manuscripts, using, when necessary, general references and a figure to explain the structure and processes underpinning their work that would makes the article suitable for readers working on organisms from other kingdoms.New article type: Surface FeaturesWe encourage short and focused reviews on any aspect of the surfaces and walls of microorganisms and plants. They may for example focus on a specific component of the cell surface or how those components influence important aspects of the structure, biology, immunology and life styles of these organisms. They may also address interesting new techniques to study the cell surface. Surface Feature articles are targeted at being no longer than 1500 words (excluding references and figure legends) , based on 1-2 figures and around 20 references.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Immunology and Microbiology-Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Editor-in-chief Neil A. R.Publisher website
Editorial board by country: 6 in mainland China (about 12%); most named United Kingdom 13, France 10, United States 8, Mainland China 6, Australia 3 (51 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Polysaccharides and Plant Cell WallsAgricultural and Biological Sciences14.2%
- Antifungal resistance and susceptibilityMedicine8.8%
- Plant-Microbe Interactions and ImmunityAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.9%
- Fungal Infections and StudiesMedicine6.6%
- Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6%
- Tuberculosis Research and EpidemiologyMedicine5.1%
- Plant Reproductive BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.1%
- Plant Molecular Biology ResearchAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 9.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 9.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 9.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.61LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.65LetPub ·
- h-index
- 34OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 100OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 6.13OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 26LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 173 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 14 | 14 | 9 |
| 2025 | 27 | 27 | 106 |
| 2024 | 19 | 19 | 253 |
| 2023 | 23 | 23 | 649 |
| 2022 | 22 | 22 | 455 |
| 2021 | 22 | 22 | 646 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
50 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 35 days – 67 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 2 days (46 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 52 days
- Sample
- 46 articles with submission and acceptance dates (49 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 20 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 1 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 26 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 42 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 8 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 3,220 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,530 / EUR 2,370 / GBP 2,030 / JPY 313,800 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,800 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,620 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare7 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 1,500 words
- Reference style
- Vancouver
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted5
- editorialFull length Original Research Articles: Describing original work. Review Articles: Reviews that do not contain experimental (hands-on) establishment of a method…Length not stated
- original research articleFull length Original Research Articles: Describing original work. Review Articles: Reviews that do not contain experimental (hands-on) establishment of a method…Length not stated
- reviewFull length Original Research Articles: Describing original work. Review Articles: Reviews that do not contain experimental (hands-on) establishment of a method…Length not stated
- review articleFull length Original Research Articles: Describing original work. Review Articles: Reviews that do not contain experimental (hands-on) establishment of a method…Length not stated
- short communicationFull length Original Research Articles: Describing original work. Review Articles: Reviews that do not contain experimental (hands-on) establishment of a method…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Double anonymized peer review. Model summary
This journal follows a double anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- Netherlands
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2468-2330
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Cell Surface
What CAS zone is Cell Surface in?
In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Cell Surface?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 9.3; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 9.4, h-index 34.
How long does peer review take at Cell Surface?
Based on the dates recorded on 46 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 50 days (interquartile range 35–67 days); authors report an average review time of about 20 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Cell Surface?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Manuscript length: ≤ 1,500 words; Reference style: Vancouver; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Cell Surface based?
Of the 51 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 6 (about 12%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (13), France (10) and United States (8). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Cell Surface?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Cell Surface is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Cell Surface open access, and what is the APC?
Cell Surface is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,220.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .