Retraction: Light-triggered nitric oxide release and targeted fluorescence imaging in tumor cells developed from folic acid-graft-carboxymethyl chitosan nanospheres

Abstract

Retraction of ‘Light-triggered nitric oxide release and targeted fluorescence imaging in tumor cells developed from folic acid-graft-carboxymethyl chitosan nanospheres’ by Rijun Gui et al., RSC Adv., 2014, 4, 30129–30136, DOI: 10.1039/C4RA03034F.

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The Royal Society of Chemistry hereby wholly retracts this RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data in the published article.

The TEM image in Fig. 2a duplicates data in a number of other publications, but reported as different materials.^1–5

The TEM image in Fig. 2c duplicates data in other publications, but representing different materials.^4,6 However, an additional particle has been copy and pasted into Fig. 2c of this RSC Advances article, which indicates that this image has been manipulated.

Given the number and significance of the concerns about the validity of the data, the findings presented in this paper are no longer reliable.

Rijun Gui opposes the decision to retract. Ajun Wan, Yalei Zhang, Huili Li and Tingting Zhao were contacted but did not respond.

Signed: Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances

Date: 21^st September 2020

References

1. R. Gui and X. An, RSC Adv., 2013, 3, 20959–20969.
2. Z. Xu, Z. Wu, J. Sun and R. Gui, Mater. Chem. Phys., 2015, 162, 286–290.
3. R. Gui, H. Jin, X. Liu, Z. Wang, F. Zhang, J. Xia, M. Yang and S. Bi, Chem. Commun., 2014, 50, 14847–14850.
4. R. Gui, A. Wan, X. Liu and H. Jin, Chem. Commun., 2014, 50, 1546–1548.
5. H. Jin, R. Gui, J. Sun and Y. Wang, Talanta, 2018, 176, 277–283 (Retraction published 12 July 2019, Talanta, 2019, 204, 882).
6. R. Gui, Y. Wang and J. Sun, Colloids Surf., B, 2014, 113, 1–9.

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