Journal profile · Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
Synthetic Biology
ISSN 1939-7267 · eISSN 2397-7000 · Oxford University Press · United Kingdom
Synthetic Biology: CAS Zone 4 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.55; fully open access; APC about USD 3,625; median 111 days to acceptance (38 articles, last 24 months); 20 articles a year; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Synthetic Biology is a new open access journal which covers all aspects of synthetic biology; including papers on the mathematical modelling and practical engineering in the field. This includes genetic circuit design, computational methods, genetic systems and circuit design, viral engineering, cell design and construction, assembly platforms, DNA synthesis, synthetic metagenomics, pathway construction, gene optimization, protein engineering, metabolic engineering, programmed evolution, cellular manufacturing, mathematical modelling and engineering processes. The aim of the journal is to provide a forum for original research papers, reviews, commentaries, reports on practical projects, and a venue for in-depth discussion on the topics relevant to synthetic biology. Abstracting and indexing services Synthetic Biology is covered by the following indexing services: EBSCO Emerging Sources Citation Index (Web of Science) ExLibris Google Scholar OCLC Proquest PubMed Central TDNet Yewno Journal metrics Citation metrics Clarivate 2025 Impact Factor 4.7 2025 5 Year Impact Factor 4.0 Biology (Rank by Impact Factor) 18/106 Biochemical Research Methods (Rank by Impact Factor) 15/85 Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology (Rank by Impact Factor) 50/180 2025 Cited Half-Life 4.7 years 2025 Immediacy Index 0.5 2025 Eigenfactor Score 0.00099 2025 Article Influence Score 1.243 Scopus 2025 CiteScore 3.6 Agricultural And Biological Sciences (Miscellaneous) (Rank by CiteScore) 77/253 Biotechnology (Rank by CiteScore) 179/325 Biomedical Engineering (Rank by CiteScore) 198/342 Biomaterials (Rank by CiteScore) 94/146 Bioengineering (Rank by CiteScore) 118/168 2025 Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) 0.528 Readership 2025 Full Text Usage 80,714 Peer Review and Production 2025 Median days from submission to first decision 40 days 2025 Median days from submission to final decision 97 days 2025 Median days from acceptance to publication 28.5 days About metrics Disclaimer Statements of fact and opinion in the articles in Synthetic Biology are those of the respective authors and contributors and not of the Journal or Oxford University Press. Neither Oxford University Press nor the Journal make any representation, express or implied, in respect of the accuracy of the material in the Journal and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. Readers should make their own evaluation as to the appropriateness or otherwise of the inform
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
Editor-in-chief Sonja BillerbeckPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 2%); most named United States 36, United Kingdom 5, India 2, Italy 2, Mainland China 1 (54 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
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 | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | 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 | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | 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 | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
ESCIWeb of SciencePMCPublisher website
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
- 3.55LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 18Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.95LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.53LetPub ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 20LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 80,714Publisher website ·
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
111 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 83 days – 149 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 9 days (38 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 122 days
- Sample
- 38 articles with submission and acceptance dates (38 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 25 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 40 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to final decision 2025
- 97 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 28.5 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Anonymous peer reviewLetPub
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 accessLetPub
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LetPub | USD 3,171 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,625 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- USD 3,625
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 prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- ≤ 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 10,000 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
Article types accepted8, with length limits
- original researchResearch Article: Report on important original research relevant to the scope of Synthetic Biology, not normally more than 10,000 words. Review Article: Provide…main text ≤ 10,000 words
- perspectiverefrain from being overly speculative. Perspectives should not exceed 2,000 words and 25 references. Conference Articles: Conference Articlesmain text ≤ 2,000 words
- protocolResearch Article: Report on important original research relevant to the scope of Synthetic Biology, not normally more than 10,000 words. Review Article: Provide…Length not stated
- research articleResearch Article: Report on important original research relevant to the scope of Synthetic Biology, not normally more than 10,000 words. Review Article: Provide…Length not stated
- reviewResearch Article: Report on important original research relevant to the scope of Synthetic Biology, not normally more than 10,000 words. Review Article: Provide…Length not stated
- review articleResearch Article: Report on important original research relevant to the scope of Synthetic Biology, not normally more than 10,000 words. Review Article: Provide…Length not stated
- short communicationResearch Article: Report on important original research relevant to the scope of Synthetic Biology, not normally more than 10,000 words. Review Article: Provide…main text ≤ 2,000 words
- tutorialResearch Article: Report on important original research relevant to the scope of Synthetic Biology, not normally more than 10,000 words. Review Article: Provide…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints, Self-archiving
- Authorship Authorship
Authorship is limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the design and execution of the work described. Any contributors whose participation does not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged but not listed as an author. For a detailed definition of authorship, please see the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) definitions of authors and cont…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
Authors The Journal requires all authors to disclose any potential conflict of interest at the point of submission. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that conflicts of interest of all authors are declared to the Journal. A conflict of interest exists when the position, activities, or relationships of an individual, whether direct or indirect, financial or non-financial…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Availability of data and materials
Where ethically feasible, the Journal strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. Authors are required to include a data availability statement in their paper. When data and software underlying the research article are available in an online source, authors should include a full citation in their reference list. Fo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Screening for misconduct
Manuscripts may be screened using iThenticate to help detect publication misconduct including plagiarism and redundant publication. Manuscripts may also be screened, including with services provided by third parties, to help detect integrity issues such as inappropriate image alteration and papermill activity.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Open Government Licence
The Open Government Licence is an open licencing model for content produced by employees of UK Crown bodies allowing users to copy, publish, distribute, adapt and transmit the Information for commercial and non-commercial purposes. For additional information visit the gov.uk information on the Open Government Licence.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access charges
Please see the details of open access licences and charges. As the Journal is fully open access, you must pay the open access charge or request to use an institutional agreement to pay the open access charge through our licencing and payment portal, SciPris. Please note that prices are subject to change. All stated charges are exclusive of any applicable value added tax, goods and services tax and…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review process
Single anonymized peer review Model summary
The Journal uses the ANSI/NISO Standard Terminology for Peer Review. If you would like further description of the peer review terms used here, please refer to the most recent standard definitions. If further clarification is needed, please contact the editorial office at synbio.editorialoffice@paeditorial.co.uk. Peer review summary: Identity transparency: single anonymized Reviewer interacts with:…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
As an author, you retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels and this does not prevent submission to the Journal. If accepted, you are required to update the status of any preprint, including adding your published paper’s DOI. For full details on allowed channels and updating your preprint, please see our Author self-archiving policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Self-archiving
Self-archiving refers to posting a copy of your work on a publicly accessible website or repository. Under certain circumstances, you may self-archive versions of your work on your own webpages, on institutional webpages, and in other repositories. For information about the Journal's policy, and to learn which version(s) of your paper are acceptable for self-archiving, please see our Author self-a…
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
- Oxford University Press
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1939-7267
- Electronic ISSN
- 2397-7000
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 11, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Synthetic Biology
What CAS zone is Synthetic Biology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Synthetic Biology is in Zone 4 of Biology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Biochemical Research Methods / Biology / Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology. 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 Synthetic Biology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.55; CiteScore 3.6.
How long does peer review take at Synthetic Biology?
Based on the dates recorded on 38 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 111 days (interquartile range 83–149 days); authors report an average review time of about 25 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 Synthetic Biology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: ≤ 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 10,000 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Required; 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 Synthetic Biology based?
Of the 54 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 2%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (36), United Kingdom (5) and India (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Synthetic Biology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Synthetic Biology is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists ESCI, Web of Science and PMC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Synthetic Biology open access, and what is the APC?
Synthetic Biology is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,625.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .