INSTITUTION PROFILE / BIOSENSORS
American Chemical Society (ACS)
The US chemical society whose journals and meetings are where sensor research first appears
The ACS is a US society for chemistry and, at the same time, a major scholarly publisher. Its connection to biosensors runs through the analytical chemistry journal Analytical Chemistry, the sensor-focused journal ACS Sensors, and its national meetings and Division of Analytical Chemistry. New electrode materials, detection mechanisms and wearable sensors usually appear first as papers and conference presentations, long before standards or approvals come into play, and the ACS provides venues for that. The ACS is neither a regulator nor a publisher of standards or clinical guidelines. It has no power to approve devices and none to set performance criteria. This profile looks at one question: how much influence the ACS actually has over biosensors, in terms of the kind of power it holds and how far that power reaches.
- The ACS in 30 seconds
- What kind of body it is: the four types of influence
- What it does for biosensors
- How far its influence reaches (powers and geography)
- How research results come into the open
- Outlook
- Glossary, references and claim-to-source audit
1. The ACS in 30 seconds
What the ACS provides is a place to present research results and share them after peer review. New sensor materials and methods often appear first as papers or conference presentations, well before they become the subject of standards or approvals. When ACS Sensors was announced, the ACS said it would cover biosensors, chemical sensors, gas sensors, intracellular sensors, single-molecule sensors, microfluidic devices, wearable sensors and more Sourced. Performance figures in a paper are obtained under laboratory conditions and are separate from product approval or conformity with a standard. Approval rests with regulators such as the FDA, evaluation procedures with documents from ISO and CLSI, and clinical positioning with bodies such as the ADA.
2. What kind of body it is: the four types of influence
Unlike the companies in this series, the institutions that appear in biosensor coverage do not make sensors. What separates them is the route by which they influence the industry, and that gives four types.
3. What it does for biosensors
The ACS's involvement with biosensors has three parts: journals, national meetings and the Division of Analytical Chemistry. The volume of papers, measured by the number of DOIs registered with Crossref (the DOI registration agency), is shown below Sourced. Crossref counts include content other than research papers, so the figures are not the number of research articles.
| Venue | What it is | Scale and timing |
|---|---|---|
| Journal: Analytical Chemistry | A journal of analytical chemistry. According to the Division of Analytical Chemistry's history, it descends from the Analytical Edition of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, begun in 1929, and became an independent ACS journal in 1947. A change of editor in 1942 widened its scope to research papers on new instrumental techniques | DOIs registered with Crossref: 3,197 for 2025 (2,507 for 2024). 140,233 in total since 1947 |
| Journal: ACS Sensors | A journal devoted to sensor research. Announced on 14 August 2015 and launched in January 2016 (described then as monthly and online-only). It covers biosensors, chemical sensors, gas sensors, intracellular sensors, single-molecule sensors, cell chips, arrays, microfluidic devices and wearable sensors, and aims to bring together chemists, engineers, physicists, biologists, industry and entrepreneurs | DOIs registered with Crossref: 911 for 2025 (685 for 2024, 526 for 2023). 5,679 in total since 2015 |
| National meetings | Two a year. ACS Fall 2026 (Chicago, 23 to 27 August 2026) had programming from 31 divisions and 10 committees, and 10,370 accepted presentations. The next meeting, ACS Spring 2027, is in New Orleans, 21 to 25 March 2027 | Meeting programmes cover chemistry as a whole, not sensors alone. We did not confirm a count for biosensors |
| Division of Analytical Chemistry | One of the ACS technical divisions, founded in 1938. The division's website also lists related meetings, such as Pittcon 2027 and the Eastern Analytical Symposium, and an international meeting on bioanalysis | Pittcon and similar events are not run by the ACS; the division lists them as related meetings |
Across the ACS as a whole, 100,272 DOIs were registered for content issued in 2025. The combined 4,108 for Analytical Chemistry and ACS Sensors is about 4.1% of that Our calculation. (Calculation: (3,197 + 911) / 100,272. All figures are from Crossref records retrieved on 4 October 2026. They are DOI counts, not counts of research articles.)
New electrode materials and enzyme immobilisation methods appear first in papers. But the detection limits and response times reported there are values for that laboratory's samples, electrodes and measurement conditions. They differ in sample type and evaluation procedure from the performance a manufacturer presents for a product, such as clinical study results submitted to a regulator Our calculation. CLSI documents (EP17 on detection capability, EP07 on interference and others) set out procedures for verifying such performance in a common way (see our CLSI profile). When reading about sensor materials, it helps to keep apart the two stages: a paper announces a possibility, while standards and approvals come later and are separate. Electrode-related materials are covered in our explainers on enzyme-electrode interfaces and on graphene and carbon nanotubes, and detection limits in our explainer on label-free detection and limit of detection.
4. How far its influence reaches (powers and geography)
| Aspect | What the ACS has | What the ACS does not have |
|---|---|---|
| Powers | It edits and publishes journals and runs meetings. Which studies appear in them depends on peer review and editorial judgement. The 1937 Act sets its objects as encouraging the advancement of chemistry, promoting research and spreading chemical knowledge | Any power to approve or certify devices, to set evaluation procedures or performance criteria, to issue clinical recommendations, or to make legally binding decisions |
| Relation to regulation | We could not confirm a role within any regulator's system in the primary sources we used | It takes no part in FDA reviews, in drafting ISO or CLSI documents, or in writing the ADA's clinical guideline (these are not ACS functions) |
| Geography | A US corporation, but its papers and meetings are international. National meetings are held in US cities such as Chicago and New Orleans, with digital participation also offered (ACS Fall 2026) | Any country's regulation. We could not confirm the breakdown of authors or readers by country |
| Peer review and how claims are treated | Papers are published after peer review (the announcement of ACS Sensors describes a peer-reviewed journal) | Any function that ranks products. Any basis for treating a performance figure in a paper as a guarantee for a product |
| Scale | 101,199 members (31 July 2025) and a wider community of 251,396 including students and community associates; the occupation of more than 52% of that community is unknown. About 2.23 million DOIs registered under the ACS name in total | A staff headcount could not be found in the primary sources we used |
Research in an ACS journal is the authors' own work. It is not the view or recommendation of the Society. C&EN's member comment pieces likewise end with a note that the views are the author's and not necessarily those of C&EN or the ACS Sourced. And the fact that a paper has been peer reviewed does not mean the technology has been approved as a product, or that it is recommended for use in clinical care.
5. How research results come into the open
The ACS handles the first public stage of sensor research. What comes after, namely standards, approval and clinical positioning, belongs to other institutions covered in this series.
The relationship between the venues the ACS runs and the other institutions in this series can be laid out as follows Our calculation.
| Stage | Main institutions | Relationship with the ACS |
|---|---|---|
| Presenting research results | The ACS (journals and meetings) | The subject of this profile |
| Evaluation procedures and quality criteria | ISO, CLSI | ACS papers may publish research that underlies a procedure, but ISO and CLSI set the procedures (we did not confirm individual citations) |
| Approval and certification | FDA, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and PMDA, European Commission | We could not confirm a direct relationship in the primary sources we used |
| Clinical positioning | ADA | The ADA guideline draws on published evidence, but not only from ACS journals (we did not confirm this point) |
Where our company profiles in this series (in preparation) touch on a company's research and development, whether it cites ACS papers is written only to the extent that the company's own publications confirm it. Research-stage technologies are covered in our explainers on electrochemical sensors, wearable biosensors, microneedles and others.
6. Outlook
| What we can read | Primary information behind it | Type |
|---|---|---|
| The next national meeting is ACS Spring 2027 (21 to 25 March 2027, New Orleans). Abstract submission opened in August 2026 | Meeting notice on the website of an ACS technical division (the Division of Physical Chemistry) | Sourced |
| DOI registrations for ACS Sensors have risen each year (437 in 2022, 526 in 2023, 685 in 2024, 911 in 2025). Analytical Chemistry also rose from 2,507 in 2024 to 3,197 in 2025 | Crossref records (retrieved 4 October 2026). The counts are DOIs and include content other than papers | Sourced |
| ACS Sensors had 756 DOIs registered for 2026 by early October. It may exceed 2025 over the full year | Crossref records. Scaling the count to early October up to a full year gives about 1,000 (our rough estimate) | Inference |
| How papers in ACS Sensors and elsewhere are used in discussions of standards and approvals is for each institution to decide | The ACS's role is limited to providing a venue. How ISO, CLSI, the FDA and others use papers could not be confirmed in the primary sources we used | Not yet confirmed |
7. Glossary
- Congressional charter
- Incorporation by an Act of the US Congress. The ACS was incorporated by the Act of 25 August 1937 (Public No. 358). It is not a government agency.
- Peer review
- A process in which experts in the same field examine a paper before it is published. Passing peer review does not mean a technology has been approved as a product.
- DOI
- Digital object identifier: a persistent identifier attached to papers and other content. Registration agencies such as Crossref manage them, and the number registered gives a rough measure of publishing volume.
- Division
- A subject-based technical unit within the ACS. The Division of Analytical Chemistry was founded in 1938.
- C&EN
- Chemical & Engineering News, the ACS's news magazine.
8. References
- US Government Publishing Office (GovInfo) Statutes at Large, vol. 50, pp. 798-799, "An Act To incorporate the American Chemical Society" (Public No. 358, approved 25 August 1937; objects of the incorporation). https://www.govinfo.gov/link/statute/50/798
- C&EN (ACS) Comment: A growing community with a shared vision (September 2025: 101,199 members, a community of 251,396, occupation breakdown, 2026 as the 150th anniversary; figures as of 31 July 2025). https://cen.acs.org/acs-news/comment/Comment-growing-community-shared-vision/103/web/2025/09
- C&EN (ACS) ACS Fall 2026 Chicago meeting guide (15 July 2026: 23 to 27 August 2026, 31 divisions and 10 committees, 10,370 accepted papers). https://cen.acs.org/acs-news/acs-fall-2026-chicago-meeting/104/web/2026/07
- ACS Publications (Axial) ACS launches new interdisciplinary journal focused on modern sensor science (14 August 2015: announcement of ACS Sensors). https://axial.acs.org/multidisciplinary/acs-launches-new-interdisciplinary-journal-focused-on-modern-sensor-science
- ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry 75 Years of the Division of Analytical Chemistry of the ACS (founding of the division in 1938; independence of Analytical Chemistry in 1947 and its predecessor). https://acsanalytical.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/75-Years-of-the-DAC.pdf
- ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry Official website (notices of related meetings). https://acsanalytical.org/
- ACS Division of Physical Chemistry ACS Spring 2027 (21 to 25 March 2027, New Orleans; abstract submission opens August 2026). https://phys-acs.org/?p=9022
- Crossref DOI registrations for Analytical Chemistry (ISSN 0003-2700), retrieved 4 October 2026. https://api.crossref.org/journals/0003-2700
- Crossref DOI registrations for ACS Sensors (ISSN 2379-3694), retrieved the same day. https://api.crossref.org/journals/2379-3694
- Crossref DOI registrations for the ACS as a whole (member ID 316) and its location, retrieved the same day. https://api.crossref.org/members/316
9. Claim-to-source audit
| Claim in the text | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The 1937 Act (Public No. 358) and the objects of the incorporation | Sourced | Reference 1 https://www.govinfo.gov/link/statute/50/798 |
| 101,199 members and a community of 251,396 (31 July 2025), occupation breakdown, 2026 as the 150th anniversary | Sourced | Reference 2 https://cen.acs.org/acs-news/comment/Comment-growing-community-shared-vision/103/web/2025/09 |
| ACS Fall 2026 (23 to 27 August 2026, 31 divisions and 10 committees, 10,370 accepted presentations), digital participation | Sourced | Reference 3 https://cen.acs.org/acs-news/acs-fall-2026-chicago-meeting/104/web/2026/07 |
| The announcement of ACS Sensors (14 August 2015, launched January 2016, monthly and online-only, scope, peer-reviewed) | Sourced | Reference 4 https://axial.acs.org/multidisciplinary/acs-launches-new-interdisciplinary-journal-focused-on-modern-sensor-science |
| Founding of the Division of Analytical Chemistry in 1938; independence of Analytical Chemistry in 1947, its 1929 predecessor, the 1942 change of scope | Sourced | Reference 5 https://acsanalytical.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/75-Years-of-the-DAC.pdf |
| The division's website lists related meetings such as Pittcon 2027 | Sourced | Reference 6 https://acsanalytical.org/ |
| ACS Spring 2027 (21 to 25 March 2027, New Orleans, abstract submission opens August 2026) | Sourced | Reference 7 https://phys-acs.org/?p=9022 |
| DOI counts for Analytical Chemistry (2,507 in 2024, 3,197 in 2025, 140,233 in total) | Sourced | Reference 8 https://api.crossref.org/journals/0003-2700 |
| DOI counts for ACS Sensors (437 in 2022, 526 in 2023, 685 in 2024, 911 in 2025, 5,679 in total, 756 for 2026 by early October) | Sourced | Reference 9 https://api.crossref.org/journals/2379-3694 |
| DOI registrations under the ACS name (100,272 for 2025, 2,232,207 in total) and Washington, DC as its location | Sourced | Reference 10 https://api.crossref.org/members/316 |
| The two journals' combined 4,108 DOIs are about 4.1% of the ACS total ((3,197 + 911) / 100,272) | Our calculation | Our calculation from the Crossref records (References 8 to 10) |
| C&EN comment pieces carry a note that the views are the author's and not necessarily those of C&EN or the ACS | Sourced | Reference 2 https://cen.acs.org/acs-news/comment/Comment-growing-community-shared-vision/103/web/2025/09 |
| The four-type classification, the grouping in Fig. 2 and Chapter 5, and the materials engineer's reading | Our calculation | Our own grouping, based on References 4, 5 and 8 to 10 |
| The ACS's role within any regulator's system, how other institutions use papers, authors' and readers' country breakdown, staff headcount, and a count of biosensor-only presentations | Not yet confirmed | Not confirmed in the primary sources we used. This article does not estimate them |
| ACS Sensors may exceed 2025 in DOI registrations over the full year 2026 (about 1,000 if the count to early October is scaled up) | Inference | Our rough estimate from the Crossref record (Reference 9); this article's interpretation |
Last updated 4 October 2026 / Troy Technical
This article summarises an organisation from the ACS's official materials and public records. It is not advice on diagnosis, treatment or the reading of any individual's measurements. Items marked "Inference" are this article's reading of the primary information.