Viewpoint pubs.acs.org/JPCB
New Physical Insights: Magnetic Resonance Methods and Applications A primary requirement of manuscripts submitted to The Journal of Physical Chemistry is that the manuscript should provide “new physical insight”. The journal scope states that manuscripts that only report data or applications of data are generally not suitable for publication in JPC A/B/C. In this viewpoint, guidance will be provided on the suitability of manuscripts involving experimental and theoretical studies of systems using magnetic resonance techniques and on potential areas of interest related to magnetic resonance for future manuscript submissions to JPC. The field of magnetic resonance broadly defined includes experimental liquid and solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and pulsed EPR techniques, low field and high field versions of NMR and EPR, polarization transfer methods such as dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), and pulsed field gradient methods such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as well as theoretical treatments of electron and nuclear spin interactions. Magnetic resonance methods are applicable to a broad range of biological and materials systems, and articles are found in all sections of JPC (A, B, and C). Recently, we featured a virtual special issue related to NMR Developments and Applications (http://pubs.acs.org/page/vi/ nmrdevelopments), which was published in January of 2017 in collaboration with the journal, Analytical Chemistry. This joint virtual issue consisted of 28 articles related to NMR with 14 articles selected from each journal. Another NMR themed virtual special issue is forthcoming and is devoted to Recent Advances in Connecting Structure, Dynamics, and Function of Biomolecules by NMR. These are two examples highlighting advances in NMR spectroscopy through virtual journal issues. Papers that are often published in JPC related to NMR include the applications of NMR to biomolecules and biological systems including membranes, amino acids, proteins, and enzymes just to name a few. In addition, papers are published describing NMR investigations of materials including polymers, porous materials (zeolites, mesoporous silica, and metal organic frameworks), glasses, and numerous other materials of importance in applications such as energy, catalysis, and biomedicine. Applications of EPR are also considered for publication, and these generally focus on biological or inorganic systems, such as those with paramagnetic transition metal centers or spin labels. Manuscripts related to applications of magnetic resonance must include molecular level physical insights that provide information related to structure/property relationships, dynamics, or catalytic or biological activity to be publishable in JPC. In addition to applications, manuscripts are also published in JPC that report the development of new magnetic resonance methods that are of broad interest to the physical chemistry community with the caveat that minor modifications of existing methods are generally not appropriate for JPC. For example, recently advances in DNP methods and their application to biological and catalytic systems have been reported in JPC. © 2017 American Chemical Society
New theoretical and computational methods related to magnetic resonance are also appropriate topics for JPC. Density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics methods can be used to interpret magnetic resonance experiments of systems with increasing complexity, leading to important physical insights. However, magnetic resonance related papers that are purely focused on theory are subject to the general JPC criteria for theoretical and computational papers and must satisfy at least one of the following guidelines: 1. provide significant new physical insight into an experimentally relevant system or process 2. present a new theoretical or computational methodology of general interest Manuscripts that combine experimental and computational methods are increasingly useful in advancing the understanding of complex magnetic resonance interactions and are often published in JPC. Papers that are typically not published in JPC include those that focus on routine applications of NMR to systems that have been extensively studied in the past or those that focus on incremental improvements in experimental methods. In addition, manuscripts that report advances in magnetic resonance experiments that are directed toward experts in the field are more suitable for a more specialized journal than JPC. To conclude, papers related to magnetic resonance are an important component of JPC’s content across all three parts (A, B, and C) because of the broad impact that this field has on chemistry, biology, and materials science. In this Viewpoint, I have attempted to highlight areas of particular interest to JPC with caveats about what to avoid when preparing manuscripts for JPC. It should be acknowledged that the content of this viewpoint is not intended to be exhaustive and/or prescriptive with respect to magnetic resonance topics but rather highlights particular areas of interest and pitfalls to avoid.
Sarah C. Larsen, Senior Editor
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University of Iowa
AUTHOR INFORMATION
ORCID
Sarah C. Larsen: 0000-0002-9736-4964 Notes
The author declares no competing financial interest. This Editorial is jointly published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, B, and C.
Published: August 24, 2017 7749
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.7b07501 J. Phys. Chem. B 2017, 121, 7749−7749
