Journal profile · BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH METHODS-BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY
Journal of Biological Engineering
ISSN 1754-1611 · BioMed Central · ENGLAND · Founded 2007
Journal of Biological Engineering: CAS Zone 2 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 6.29; fully open access; APC about USD 3,090; median 104 days to acceptance (102 articles, last 24 months); 134 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Biological Engineering is published by BioMed Central and is in Zone 2 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are 3D Printing in Biomedical Research, Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction and Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology, together about 23.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Biological engineering is an emerging discipline that encompasses engineering theory and practice connected to and derived from the science of biology, just as mechanical engineering and electrical engineering are rooted in physics and chemical engineering in chemistry. Topical areas include, but are not limited to: Synthetic biology and cellular design Biomolecular, cellular and tissue engineering Bioproduction and metabolic engineering Biosensors Ecological and environmental engineering Biological engineering education and the biodesign process As the official journal of the Institute of Biological Engineering, Journal of Biological Engineering provides a home for the above-referenced topical research areas. All submitted manuscripts (including reviews) must demonstrate significant (neither technical nor incremental) novelty. Manuscripts should explore commonalities with other fields of application by providing some discussion of the broader context of the work and how it connects to other areas within the field.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH METHODS-BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY
Editor-in-chief Raj R. RaoPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 6 in mainland China (about 13%); most named United States 14, South Korea 7, Mainland China 6, Germany 4, India 3 (47 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- 3D Printing in Biomedical ResearchEngineering8.3%
- Microbial Metabolic Engineering and BioproductionBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8.1%
- Bacterial Genetics and BiotechnologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.7%
- Gene Regulatory Network AnalysisBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.9%
- Tissue Engineering and Regenerative MedicineMedicine5.9%
- Viral Infectious Diseases and Gene Expression in InsectsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.6%
- CRISPR and Genetic EngineeringBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.2%
- Bone Tissue Engineering MaterialsEngineering5.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Biochemical Research Methods | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Biochemical Research Methods | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biochemical Research Methods | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
INSPECEmbaseCASPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- 6.29LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 6.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 7.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 9.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.17LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.4LetPub ·
- h-index
- 33LetPub ·
- h-index
- 80OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 513OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.61OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 127LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 981,800Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 944 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 167 | 167 | 112 |
| 2025 | 134 | 134 | 768 |
| 2024 | 73 | 73 | 845 |
| 2023 | 80 | 80 | 1,773 |
| 2022 | 38 | 38 | 1,556 |
| 2021 | 28 | 28 | 791 |
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 Crossref · to
104 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 66 days – 137 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 13 days (102 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 122 days
- Sample
- 102 articles with submission and acceptance dates (319 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 17 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 5 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 17 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single 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 | EUR 2,590 / USD 3,090 / GBP 2,290 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,890 / EUR 2,390 / GBP 2,090 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 1,990 / USD 2,790 / EUR 2,290 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | GBP 2,290 / USD 3,090 / EUR 2,590 | — | — |
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)
Article types accepted6
- book reviewFormatting guidelines for specific article types can be found below. Research Correspondence Book Review Meeting report Methodology ReviewLength not stated
- correspondenceFormatting guidelines for specific article types can be found below. Research Correspondence Book Review Meeting report Methodology ReviewLength not stated
- meeting reportFormatting guidelines for specific article types can be found below. Research Correspondence Book Review Meeting report Methodology ReviewLength not stated
- methodologyFormatting guidelines for specific article types can be found below. Research Correspondence Book Review Meeting report Methodology ReviewLength not stated
- researchFormatting guidelines for specific article types can be found below. Research Correspondence Book Review Meeting report Methodology ReviewLength not stated
- reviewFormatting guidelines for specific article types can be found below. Research Correspondence Book Review Meeting report Methodology ReviewLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Generative AI Usage Guidelines
We believe in using AI responsibly and for the benefit of the research community. Read these guidelines carefully if considering the use of GenAI with the Journal of Biological Engineering.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Formatting the 'Availability of data and materials' section of your manuscript
Data sharing strongly encouraged or required; deposit in public repositories where appropriate; availability detailed in 'Availability of data and materials' section. Model summary
The following format for the 'Availability of data and materials section of your manuscript should be used:
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Licensing and copyright
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND or CC BY licence; authors retain copyright. Model summary
Creative Commons licences Open access articles in Springer Nature journals are published under Creative Commons licences. These provide an industry-standard framework to support easy re-use of open access material. Under Creative Commons licences, authors retain copyright of their articles. Journal of Biological Engineering articles are published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND (Creative Commons A…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Benefits of open access
Publishing open access (OA) offers a number of benefits, including greater reach and readership for your work: Cited more 1.6x more citations of OA articles than non-OA articles across all subjects Downloaded more 4x more downloads of OA articles than non-OA articles Greater impact 2.5x more Altmetric attention. OA articles attracted 1.9x more news mentions and 1.2x more policy mentions Open acces…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
Peer review is the process used to evaluate the quality of a manuscript before publication. Independent researchers in the relevant field assess submitted manuscripts to check their validity and robustness. Their feedback guides editors in making publication decisions. Typically, two or more experts evaluate each manuscript based on three main criteria: scientific robustness: is the research metho…
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
- BioMed Central
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Founded
- 2007
- ISSN
- 1754-1611
- Society / sponsor
- Institute of Biological Engineering
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Biological Engineering
What CAS zone is Journal of Biological Engineering in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Biological Engineering is in Zone 2 of Biology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Biochemical Research Methods / Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology. 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 Journal of Biological Engineering?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 6.29; CiteScore 9.3, h-index 80.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Biological Engineering?
Based on the dates recorded on 102 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 104 days (interquartile range 66–137 days); authors report an average review time of about 17 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Biological Engineering based?
Of the 47 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 6 (about 13%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (14), South Korea (7) and Mainland China (6). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Biological Engineering?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Biological Engineering is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists INSPEC, Embase and CAS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Biological Engineering open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Biological Engineering is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,090.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; 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: .