Author Instructions

Abstract Submissions

• Abstracts must be submitted online under the link to Abstracts. One abstract may be submitted per attendee as presenting author. Select preferred session topic, preferred presentation type, consideration for young scientist oral session (if age 35 or under), enter presenter and author information, add the text of the abstract, and submit the abstract online.
• DO NOT include author names, affiliation or self-references within the body text of the abstract – this is important to safeguard a double-blind review.
• If your abstract cannot be accepted as Oral presentation, it will be considered for Poster presentation. In compliance with the essentials of the MSB-Symposium series, only the title and presenting author of the contributed abstract is published in the symposium program book.
• If you cannot submit the abstract prior to receiving company approval. By the date the abstract is due (please see the Key Dates), please submit as a placeholder online the title, authors and a brief description of the kind of material that you would like to present, and indicate when approval is expected. This material will be kept confidential. It is your responsibility to submit the abstract upon approval.

How to Write Your Abstract

1. On the online abstract submission form, please select no more than two Main Categories and the preferred presentation type (oral, poster).
2. All abstracts must be submitted online as text only (no figures, tables, graphics).
3. The use of CAPITAL LETTERS in the title should be limited to abbreviations.
4. Keep the abstract concise. Include the following (or similar) sections:
   •    Title of your Presentation
   •    Introduction
   •    Experimental Approach
   •    Results and Discussion
   •    Conclusions
   •    References (optional)
   •    Supporting document (optional)
5. Avoid any explicit citation or information that could allow your identification.
6. Acknowledgements (if any) should only be made with the organisation and grant number.
7. DOI accession numbers should be provided, if available, for each reference in the abstract.

Abstract Guidelines

• Introduction/Background/Aim of the Work: The background should be short, but describe what is already known about the subject, related to the paper in question as well as what is not known about the subject and hence what the study intends to examine. In most cases, the background can be framed in just 2 to 3 sentences, with each sentence describing a different aspect of the information. The purpose of the background is to provide the reviewer with a background to the study which will lead into a description of the methods employed in the investigation.
• Instrumentation/Methods: This section should contain enough information to enable the reviewer to understand what was done, and how.
• Results & Discussion: The results section is the most important part of the abstract and should be the longest, containing as much detail about the findings as the word count permits.
• Conclusions: This section should contain the most important take-home message of the study, expressed in a few precisely worded sentences. Usually, the finding highlighted here relates to the primary outcome measure; however, other important or unexpected findings should also be mentioned. You may also consider expressing an opinion about the theoretical or practical implications of the findings, or the importance of these findings for the field. You may also want to comment on whether the work is unpublished or in press.
• Abstract Summary: Summarize the aim of the work and its scientific importance, the method(s) used, and the most important or impactful results of the work

Peer Review
Your abstract will be reviewed independently by two peers with expertise in the topic. The review will be blind to your name, institution or position status and will be based solely on the information you provide when you submit your abstract online. Four criteria will be used to score each abstract:

• Originality of the work
• Abstract quality/technical description
• Fit with the symposium themes
• Significance to the field of microscale separations and bioanalysis, including microscale engineering

In order to present, the presenting author of each lecture or poster must complete the registration process by paying the required fee after abstract acceptance notification.

Abstract upload via the online tool

Abstracts must be submitted via the Abstract Submission tool available under the Registration menu on this website. Please note that your registration is required to submit abstracts, but payment is not mandatory at this stage. However, accepted summaries will only be published in the book of abstracts of the symposium after full payment of the registration fee.

In order to submit your abstract, select “Abstract submission” under the “Registration” menu. Log in using your registration number as well as your e-mail address. Select “Abstract Submission” and “Add”.

• Paste the title of your abstract in the field “Subject”.
• Select whether you agree to be selected for an oral communication [Save].
• Select up to two Main categories for your abstract (mandatory).
• Under “Authors”, add the number of authors and click on [Add authors]. Fill in each author’s firstname and lastname and tick the box for the main author. If no author is ticked, the submitter will automatically be selected as main author.
• Add the author’s full address(es) under “Author’s affiliations and addresses”. If several addresses are used, please add reference numbers between brackets at the end of each author’s name to refer to the corresponding author’s affiliation.
• Paste your abstract text in the field “Abstract content” (text only).
• Under “References”, add the number of references and click on [Add references]. Fill in the number of the references and the reference texts.
• A temporary number (TempXX) is assigned to your abstract for communication purposes. Please be aware that the definitive Poster or OC number will be communicated in your last information e-mail 1 week before the event.
• Click on [submit/edit].
• Click on “PDF preview” to check the result. Please note that the abstract should be one page maximum. Therefore, only the first page on the preview will be taken into account. If the preview shows more than one page, please adapt your page accordingly so that it fits into one page.
• You can update your abstract if necessary and submit/edit or preview as many times as needed. It will not re-create a new abstract but just update it.

The pdf will be inserted in the book of abstract as shown on the preview. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to fill in all data correctly and completely. Any errors in spelling, grammar or scientific fact will be reproduced as typed by the author.

You can have access to your poster via the website and make changes to it, until submission deadline, by using your registration number and email address as indicated at registration.