Bioorthogonal chemistry for illuminating life processes

You are welcome to submit articles on the abovementioned themes. RSC Chemical Biology is dedicated to publishing and disseminating the most exceptionally significant, breakthrough findings of interest to the chemical biology community. For more information on the journal scope, standards, article types and author guidelines, please visit the RSC Chemical Biology page.

If you would like to contribute to this themed issue, you can submit your article directly by visiting the journal page and inform the editorial office by emailing our team. Please mention that this submission is a contribution to “Bioorthogonal Chemistry for Illuminating Life Processes”, in the ‘Themed issues’ section of the submission form and add a ‘Note to the Editor’ that this is from the Open Call. The Editorial Office reserves the right to check suitability of submissions in relation to the scope of the collection and inclusion of accepted articles in the collection is not guaranteed.

Please note that all submissions are subject to the journal’s normal peer review processes, with an initial assessment to confirm the manuscript's suitability for full peer review. If you have any questions about the journal or the collection, please email us.  We would be happy to answer them.

About this call

Bioorthogonal chemistry has revolutionised our ability to see the invisible by capturing the fleeting molecular events that sustain life. From single-molecule tracking to whole-organism imaging, bioorthogonal tools now bridge chemistry and biology to illuminate processes once beyond reach. This themed collection aims to highlight the most recent advances in chemical probe design, imaging methodologies, and applications that reveal the living world in action.

We welcome contributions that showcase how bioorthogonal chemistry empowers molecular imaging and spatiotemporal analysis in living systems. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

• Development of newbioorthogonalreactionoptimizedfor fast kinetics, biocompatibility, and minimal background in imaging contexts
• Innovativebioorthogonalstrategies forvisualisingbiomolecules in live cells and organisms, including proteins, glycans, lipids, and nucleic acids
• Fluorescent, bioluminescent, Raman, or nuclear imaging probes and reporters activated throughbioorthogonalreactions
• Integration of photoactivable and photoconvertiblebioorthogonalsystems forspatio-temporal control of cellular labeling and super-resolution microscopy
• Multicolor labelling approaches enabling multiplexed imaging or correlative microscopy 
• Application ofbioorthogonalchemistry tomonitormetabolism, trafficking, and dynamic cellular responses with high temporal and spatial precision
• Analytical and computational methods supporting quantitative imaging and kinetic characterization in biological contexts
• Sci–Art explorations at the interface of chemistry, imaging, and visual representation. Works that engage the aesthetics of molecular illumination, visual metaphors of chemical reactivity, or collaborations between scientists and artists inspired bybioorthogonalimaging