Journal profile · Chemistry-Analytical Chemistry
SLAS Discovery
ISSN 2472-5552 · eISSN 2472-5560 · SAGE Publications Inc. · United States
SLAS Discovery: CAS Zone 4 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.34; diamond open access (no APC); no APC; median 74 days to acceptance (101 articles, last 24 months); 76 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
SLAS Discovery is published by SAGE Publications Inc. and is in Zone 4 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Computational Drug Discovery Methods, Receptor Mechanisms and Signaling and Human auditory perception and evaluation, together about 26.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Advancing the Science of Drug Discovery An official journal of SLASSLAS Discovery reports how scientists develop and use novel technologies and/or approaches to provide and characterize computational, chemical, and biological tools to understand and treat human disease. The journal focuses on drug discovery sciences with a strong record of scientific rigor and impact, reporting on research thatEnables and improves target validationShares and/or compares novel methods for medium- or high-throughput screeningEvaluates current drug discovery technologiesProvides novel research tools (computational, chemical, biochemical, biological)Incorporates research approaches that enhance depth of knowledge and drug discovery successSLAS Discovery’s editorial scope includes scientific and technical advances in target identification/validation (including chemical probes, RNA silencing, gene editing technologies); biomarker discovery; assay development; virtual, medium- or high-throughput screening (biochemical and biological, biophysical, phenotypic, toxicological, ADME); lead generation/optimization; chemical biology; informatics (data analysis, image analysis, statistics, bio- and chemo-informatics) and computational approaches (AI, ML); review articles on target biology, new paradigms in drug discovery, and advances in drug discovery technologies.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Chemistry-Analytical Chemistry
Editor-in-chief Robert M. CampbellPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 22, United Kingdom 4, Canada 3, Switzerland 2, Germany 1 (34 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Computational Drug Discovery MethodsComputer Science10.3%
- Receptor Mechanisms and SignalingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8.1%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering7.9%
- Cell Image Analysis TechniquesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.4%
- Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies ResearchMedicine7.2%
- 3D Printing in Biomedical ResearchEngineering5%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.8%
- Advanced Biosensing Techniques and ApplicationsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biochemical Research Methods | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Chemistry, Analytical | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biochemical Research Methods | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Chemistry, Analytical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biochemical Research Methods | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Chemistry, Analytical | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PubMedPublisher website
Other: Crossref
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
- 3.34LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.87LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.64LetPub ·
- h-index
- 3LetPub ·
- h-index
- 102OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,788OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.59OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 75LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,112 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 44 | 44 | 8 |
| 2025 | 76 | 76 | 283 |
| 2024 | 61 | 61 | 358 |
| 2023 | 69 | 69 | 825 |
| 2022 | 65 | 65 | 709 |
| 2021 | 80 | 80 | 1,495 |
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
74 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 52 days – 113 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 1 days (101 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 76 days
- Sample
- 101 articles with submission and acceptance dates (139 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 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 35 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 77 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 1 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 13 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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,070 / EUR 1,940 / GBP 1,660 / JPY 256,740 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,380 | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers2, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
Article types accepted7
- commentarySLAS Discovery accepts the below manuscript types:Application Note,Commentary/Auto-Commentary,Editorial,Letter to the Editor,Original Research,Perspective,Proto…Length not stated
- editorialSLAS Discovery accepts the below manuscript types:Application Note,Commentary/Auto-Commentary,Editorial,Letter to the Editor,Original Research,Perspective,Proto…Length not stated
- letter to the editorSLAS Discovery accepts the below manuscript types:Application Note,Commentary/Auto-Commentary,Editorial,Letter to the Editor,Original Research,Perspective,Proto…Length not stated
- original researchSLAS Discovery accepts the below manuscript types:Application Note,Commentary/Auto-Commentary,Editorial,Letter to the Editor,Original Research,Perspective,Proto…Length not stated
- perspectiveSLAS Discovery accepts the below manuscript types:Application Note,Commentary/Auto-Commentary,Editorial,Letter to the Editor,Original Research,Perspective,Proto…Length not stated
- protocolSLAS Discovery accepts the below manuscript types:Application Note,Commentary/Auto-Commentary,Editorial,Letter to the Editor,Original Research,Perspective,Proto…Length not stated
- reviewSLAS Discovery accepts the below manuscript types:Application Note,Commentary/Auto-Commentary,Editorial,Letter to the Editor,Original Research,Perspective,Proto…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 in scientific writing
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 Author contributions
For transparency, we require corresponding authors to provide co-author contributions to the manuscript using the relevant CRediT roles. The CRediT taxonomy includes 14 different roles describing each contributor's specific contribution to the scholarly output. The roles are: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration;…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interest
Corresponding authors, on behalf of all the authors of a submission, must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
License Agreement upon acceptance Model summary
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'License Agreement' (see more information on this). Permitted third party reuse of open access articles is determined by the author's choice of user license.Author rightsAs an author you (or your employer or institution) have certain rights to reuse your work. More information.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Please visit our Open Access page from the Journal Homepage for more information.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal operates a single anonymized review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor'…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprints can be shared anywhere at any time Model summary
Please note that preprints can be shared anywhere at any time, in line with Elsevier's sharing policy. Sharing your preprints e.g. on a preprint server will not count as prior publication (see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication' for more information).
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
- SAGE Publications Inc.
- Country or region
- United States
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2472-5552
- Electronic ISSN
- 2472-5560
- Society / sponsor
- SLAS
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about SLAS Discovery
What CAS zone is SLAS Discovery in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, SLAS Discovery is in Zone 4 of Biology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Biochemical Research Methods / Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology / Chemistry, Analytical. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of SLAS Discovery?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.34; CiteScore 4.8, h-index 102.
How long does peer review take at SLAS Discovery?
Based on the dates recorded on 101 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 74 days (interquartile range 52–113 days); authors report an average review time of about 12 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 SLAS Discovery?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional. 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 SLAS Discovery based?
Of the 34 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (22), United Kingdom (4) and Canada (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index SLAS Discovery?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, SLAS Discovery is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists PubMed; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is SLAS Discovery open access, and what is the APC?
SLAS Discovery is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .