Smartphone Integrated Analytical Chemistry: Innovations in Mobile, Low Cost, and Portable Sensing

Dear Colleagues,

Recent advances in mobile device technology have transformed the landscape of analytical chemistry. The integration of smartphone cameras, processors, wireless communication modules, and app‑based computational tools has enabled the creation of low‑cost, portable, and user‑friendly analytical platforms that are capable of performing chemical, biochemical, environmental, and forensic analyses outside traditional laboratory settings. These innovations align strongly with Sci’s mission as an inclusive, multidisciplinary journal that encompasses most scientific domains and encourages novel cross‑disciplinary approaches to contemporary challenges.

Despite the rapid growth of smartphone‑based chemical sensing, it is still necessary to consolidate developments across diverse fields—including environmental monitoring, public health, food safety, education, and forensic science—into a unified scholarly forum. The proposed Special Issue will address this gap by gathering cutting‑edge research and critical reviews that showcase how smartphone‑integrated analytical tools are reshaping chemical measurement science, expanding access to analytical capabilities, and enabling real‑time decision‑making in field, clinical, and resource‑limited environments.

This Special Issue will exemplify Sci’s objective of fostering communities of authors and readers around emerging research directions and presenting collections of papers on timely, innovative topics.

We are seeking original research papers, reviews, case studies, and methodological advances that address (but are not limited to) the following topics:

• Smartphone‑based digital image colorimetry (DIC) for quantitative chemical analysis.
• Mobile electrochemical sensing using smartphone‑readout devices.
• Optical, fluorescence, and spectrometric smartphone attachments.
• App‑driven field‑deployable analytical platforms.
• Low‑cost sensors for environmental and water-quality monitoring.
• Forensic applications, including rapid drug screening, drink‑spiking detection, and point‑of‑need toxicology.
• Clinical and biomedical diagnostics using mobile sensing technologies.
• Machine learning‑enhanced mobile chemical analysis.
• The design, fabrication, and validation of mobile-compatible analytical devices.

Contributions may emphasize experimental development, validation, comparative performance, design innovation, field application, or critical evaluation of smartphone‑based analytical methodologies.

Significance and Expected Impact

Smartphone‑integrated analytical chemistry has the potential to democratize access to chemical measurement tools, enabling real‑time data collection and analysis in settings where traditional laboratory infrastructure is impractical. These technologies are becoming increasingly relevant to urgent societal challenges, including environmental monitoring, public health protection, forensic investigations, and food/drug safety.

By consolidating advances across these sectors, this Special Issue will:

• Highlight innovative solutions to scientific and societal problems.
• Facilitate cross‑disciplinary collaboration.
• Encourage the development of standardized, validated mobile analytical methods.
• Enhance visibility and accessibility of research consistent with Sci’s inclusive, multidisciplinary mandate.
• Support the journal’s aim of building active research communities through targeted Special Issues.

Dr. Kevin C. Honeychurch
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sci is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• smartphone sensing
• mobile analytical chemistry
• digital image colorimetry
• portable sensors
• electrochemical sensing
• point of need testing
• field analysis
• low cost diagnostics
• mobile health (mHealth)
• forensic screening
• environmental monitoring