The year 2005 that has just started marks a very special anniversary for Molecules, its publishers, and Editorial Board, for with this issue we start publication of our 10th volume. Such an event is always a special occasion, but perhaps more so in the world of scientific e-journals, where many such publications have come and gone over the past decade (including we might add, some of Molecules’ past competitors). After a very successful 2004, when we saw the journal break both the 100 published papers and the 1,000 published pages marks, along with a substantial increase in the journal’s Impact Factor, we can optimistically look forward to the future. As befitting the significance of this inaugural issue of 2005, it will be our biggest one ever, with over 300 pages in total and including not one, but two special issues, one on Macromolecules Applied to Pharmaceutical Chemistry and the second on Hypervalent Iodine Chemistry, ably put together by our Guest Editors Prof. Claudio Salomon and Prof. Antigoni Kotali, respectively, plus a generous complement of "regular" papers.
We do not intend to rest on our laurels in the coming year, for as the title of this editorial indicates, the best is yet to come for Molecules. After a couple of trials and false starts we hope to have a fully functional electronic manuscript submission and tracking system in place by the end of the first quarter of this year. In these earlier tests we examined both commercial products and some software developed specifically for us, and as a result of the experience gained, we anticipate being able to offer our authors, referees and editors an excellent user-friendly system.
We shall continue to support the principles of the various Open Access Initiatives, an endeavour where our Associate Publisher, Professor Francis Muguet, continues to play a leadership role on a worldwide basis. At the same time we seek the best way to balance these ideals with the practicalities of operating this and the other MDPI journals in a financially sustainable manner. Our current flat page charge is still among the lowest of any e-journal in any discipline, and we are committed to continue facilitating inasmuch as possible the publication and divulgation of papers from Third World and Developing Nation authors through partial page charge subsidies and solicitation of outside funding and donations for this purpose.
Another announcement for this year concerns the direction of the journal itself. After acting as Managing Director of the journal since 1999 Dr. Derek McPhee has now accepted the role of Editor-in-Chief of Molecules, while the incumbent Editor-in-Chief Dr. Shu-Kun Lin will from now on hold the title of Publisher and Director of the Molecules Editorial Office, Ocean University of China and will occupy himself with the overall direction of the whole MDPI journal family.
