In the world of protein, polysaccharide, nucleic acid, or any other biopolymer system research, you have certainly taken your time searching for publications to consider submitting your work to and have stumbled on the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. Not only is it one of the most cited houses in the world for macromolecule research, but is it the right one for your paper? This guide answers all the queries the researchers have regarding the journal such as scope, its impact factor, what they editors expect and how the journal is positioned in the world.
What Is the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules?
reviewed journal focused on the structure, function and chemistry of natural macromolecules. It includes proteins and macromolecular carbohydrates, glycoproteins, proteoglycans, lignins, biological poly-acids and nucleic acids.
In short: IJBM is a journal for original, structure-function research on biopolymers — not incremental or repeat findings of work already published elsewhere.
What Does IJBM Publish?
The scope of the Journal covers both chemical and biological aspects of macromolecules, and includes:
- Molecular structure and properties of protein, carbohydrates and nucleic acids.
- The structure of DNA, RNA and ATP
- Chemical and biological changes/modifications in the molecular association
- Functional properties of biopolymers
- Model systems and conformational studies related to it.
- New analytical techniques and theory developments
The research areas of IJBM are most popular such as chitosan-based drug delivery, enzyme biochemistry, polysaccharide characterization, nanoparticles and biomolecules interactions, FTIR spectroscopy etc.
The bottom line for authors: Scientific focus of the paper should be the macromolecule itself.
The use of a biopolymer as a tool, without characterization of its structure or function, will normally not be within the scope of IJBM.
What Is the Impact Factor of the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules?
One of the most common questions concerning the journal – and one that seems most well-suited for a straight-forward answer:
The 2025 JCR impact factor of the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules is 8.7 and it is ranked in Q1 position in both Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Polymer Science.
The five-year impact factor of this journal is about 8.6-8.7.
The journal's impact factor has been steadily increasing over the years, from ~3.9 in 2017 to 8.7 today, not only due to the increasing number of citations per paper in the macromolecule research field but also due to the restrictive editorial criteria.
Is the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules a Good Journal?
Yes. IJBM has a Q1 ranking, high and increasing impact factor and is indexed in Web of Science Core Collection (SCIE) and Scopus and is thus regarded as a credible, high-visibility publication platform for the research on biopolymers. Elsevier publish it giving it even more credibility in terms of editorial infrastructure and distribution.
However, "good" is subjective with respect to fit. A good impact factor isn't enough to get accepted, and desk rejection can occur for many reasons – most often because of a mismatch in scope, not because of weak data or bad writing.
How Selective Is the Journal?
IJBM is a very high-publishing journal (tens of thousands of papers in the last few years), but it is not an easy target. Specific points sought by Editors are:
- Novelty — discoveries should be original, not repetitions of previous work.
- Structure-function linkage — discuss both the structure and function of the macromolecule, not just one
- Clear scope alignment — Name and relevance of the macromolecule should be clearly stated in the title, abstract and main text.
If the macromolecule is used secondarily, rather than as the main focus of the study, the likelihood of rejection is increased no matter the quality of the data.
How Does IJBM Compare to Similar Journals?
When writing for biopolymer scientists, authors have to compare IJBM with other more specialized journals. For example:
- Carbohydrate Polymers is more narrowly focused on polysaccharides, has a higher impact factor (c. 13) but is more selective (low acceptance rate).
- IJBM is the larger and more general choice and can be used in studies of proteins, nucleic acids and mixed biopolymer systems where a carbohydrate journal is not appropriate.
However, if your paper is focused on a polysaccharide alone, and you want to achieve the highest possible impact in your citation, a specialized journal may be a better option than IJBM. For all other macromolecule space, IJBM is the default first option.
What Is the Publication Fee (APC) for IJBM?
The article processing charge (APC) for the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules is around USD 4100, but the authors are always advised to check the latest APCs directly from the publisher since the charges may be updated from time to time.
Quick FAQ
It is indexed in Web of Science Core Collection (SCIE) and Scopus and has both JCR impact factor and Scopus CiteScore.
There is no official acceptance rate for Elsevier, but it appears that there's a high volume of articles published relative to the number of articles submitted, which means its acceptance rate is moderate, as compared to very specialized, low volume journals.
The journal is published by Elsevier.
Yes, IJBM does welcome review papers which summarise advances in macromolecule structure, function or analytical techniques, subject to the same novelty and scope requirements.
IJBM is Q1 ranked on both Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Polymer Science categories and is among the top journals in their fields based on the impact of citations.
Should You Submit Your Paper to IJBM?
There are three things to consider before making a submission and those things should be judged realistically:
- Scope fit — is your macromolecule the main focus of the study and both structure and function discussed?
- Citation goals — would you need an impact factor of 8.7, which is fairly standard, or a higher impact factor specialized journal better suit your needs for your job or grant reporting?
- Risk tolerance — do you accept the review time frame and APC or a smaller but more impactful one?
Don't base the decision solely on impact factor. So much so that scope alignment and desk-rejection risk is as important, if not more, as the headline number.
Final Thoughts
With its high and increasing impact factor, as well as high coverage scope, the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules continues to be one of the most established and reliable outlets for biopolymer related research. The suitability of your manuscript for this journal depends on your research being original and investigating structure and function of natural macromolecules.
If you are choosing between journals or want to be extra sure that your manuscript fits the scope of the journal before submission, you may consider a pre-submission checklist than just relying on the impact factor for more this type of blog visit www.samtaresearch.com.
