Aims & Scope
Journal of Peptides publishes fundamental research on peptide structure, function, and molecular mechanisms across biological systems, from gene expression to protein interactions, advancing peptide science through rigorous molecular and cellular investigation.
We do NOT consider clinical outcomes, patient care studies, or medical treatment protocols
Core Research Domains
Peptide Structure & Chemistry
- Peptide synthesis and chemical modification
- Structure-activity relationships
- Stereochemistry and conformational analysis
- Peptide sequencing and characterization
- Synthetic peptide analogs and derivatives
- Peptide-based biomaterials
"Solid-phase synthesis of cyclic peptides with enhanced proteolytic stability: structural characterization and conformational dynamics"
Molecular Mechanisms & Signaling
- Peptide-mediated signal transduction pathways
- Receptor-ligand interactions at molecular level
- Intracellular peptide processing mechanisms
- Gene expression regulation by peptides
- Peptide-protein recognition and binding
- Molecular basis of peptide function
"Molecular mechanisms of neuropeptide Y receptor activation: structural insights from molecular dynamics simulations and binding kinetics"
Peptide Biochemistry & Function
- Enzymatic peptide synthesis and degradation
- Ribosomal and nonribosomal peptide biosynthesis
- Peptide post-translational modifications
- Antimicrobial peptide mechanisms
- Bioactive peptide identification and characterization
- Peptide metabolism and biochemical pathways
"Biochemical characterization of novel antimicrobial peptides from plant sources: membrane interaction mechanisms and structure-function analysis"
Omics & Systems Biology
- Peptidomics and peptide profiling
- Proteomics approaches to peptide discovery
- Genomic analysis of peptide-encoding genes
- Bioinformatics tools for peptide prediction
- Mass spectrometry-based peptide analysis
- Computational modeling of peptide systems
"Peptidomic profiling of neuropeptide expression in insect nervous systems: identification of novel signaling peptides through LC-MS/MS analysis"
Secondary Focus Areas
Cell-Penetrating Peptides
Molecular mechanisms of cellular uptake, membrane translocation pathways, and intracellular trafficking of peptides at the cellular and molecular level.
Peptide-Based Nanotechnology
Self-assembling peptide nanostructures, peptide-functionalized nanomaterials, and molecular design principles for peptide nanoarchitectures.
Analytical Methods
Novel analytical chemistry techniques for peptide detection, quantification, and structural characterization including spectroscopic and chromatographic methods.
Peptide Engineering
Rational design and directed evolution of peptides, combinatorial peptide libraries, and molecular engineering approaches for enhanced peptide properties.
Comparative Peptide Biology
Evolutionary conservation of peptide sequences and functions across species, from invertebrates to vertebrates, emphasizing molecular mechanisms.
Peptide-Protein Interactions
Molecular basis of peptide recognition by proteins, binding thermodynamics, structural determinants, and interaction networks.
Emerging Research Frontiers
Explicitly Out of Scope
We Do Not Consider
- Clinical Trials & Patient Studies Clinical outcomes, patient cohort studies, therapeutic efficacy trials, or medical treatment protocols. Rationale: Focus is on molecular mechanisms, not clinical application.
- Diagnostic Applications Clinical diagnostic tools, biomarker validation in patient populations, or medical diagnostic protocols. Rationale: Emphasis on fundamental peptide science, not clinical diagnostics.
- Pharmacological Outcomes Drug efficacy studies, pharmacokinetic profiles in clinical settings, or therapeutic outcome measures. Rationale: Molecular pharmacology acceptable; clinical pharmacology is not.
- Medical Device Development Peptide-based medical devices, drug delivery systems focused on clinical application, or therapeutic device engineering. Rationale: Molecular delivery mechanisms acceptable; clinical devices are not.
- Pure Computational Studies Without Experimental Validation Solely computational predictions without biochemical or structural validation. Rationale: Computational work must be supported by experimental molecular biology data.
Article Types & Editorial Priorities
- Original Research Articles
- Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
- Methods & Protocols
- Structural Biology Reports
- Short Communications
- Data Notes
- Technical Notes
- Perspectives & Commentaries
- Review Articles
- Opinion Pieces
- Hypothesis Articles
- Conference Reports
Editorial Standards & Requirements
Reporting Guidelines
- ARRIVE for animal studies
- MIAME for microarray data
- STROBE for observational studies
- PRISMA for systematic reviews
- Minimum information standards for omics
Data Transparency
- Raw data deposition in public repositories
- Protein structures in PDB
- Sequences in GenBank/UniProt
- Mass spectrometry data in ProteomeXchange
- Code availability for computational work
Ethics & Integrity
- Institutional ethics approval for animal work
- Biosafety compliance documentation
- Conflict of interest disclosure
- Funding source transparency
- Author contribution statements
Preprint Policy
- Preprints accepted and encouraged
- bioRxiv, ChemRxiv, arXiv compatible
- Must disclose preprint DOI
- Preprint does not affect consideration
- Version control maintained
