In my lab we're working on some new antibodies developed by phage display. Clearly, if we develop something fantastic then the data can be published in a top-ranked journal in the appropriate field. However, along the way we're developing new humanized antibodies against already know antigens. We're not always sure if they will have a particular novel use, but we would like to get our data out anyway.

I'm currious what journals people working in the field of phage display read? Do you just PubMed search across the universe of journals (always a good idea anyway) or is there a standard set of journals for this type of work?

I would suggest that you look at journals which focus on the antigen you are targeting rather than the phage display methods you used. For example, if you are producing novel antibodies to a virus, then you can look at Journal of Virology, virology, etc (you can pubmed or google the relevant field). Many journals have short tecnical report sections that you could publish with limited data. Alternatively, a journal like BioTechniques or equivalent publish short reports with novel reagents/results.

Thanks for your thoughts ronpbl.

I've been doing some searches and I think you are correct in that the type of antigen tends to define the focus and hence the journal for publication.

I have seen some publications in BMC Biotechnology, Human Antibodies and Journal of Immunological Methods. However, there doesn't seem to be any one single journal of choice for phage display work or humanized antibodies made using phage display technology. Maybe this is a good thing since there are so many journals already in circulation and searching using the internet gives quick access to even the most obscure journals.

I like the model of the open access journals, like the BMC journals and PLOS, since their content is a few mouse clicks away even if it is Issue 1 of volume 1 of a journal that no one has ever heard of. It will be interesting to see in time if easy access to content can compete with the reputations and circulation of the traditional established journals.

Any other opinions out there?