Retraction Note to: Microchim Acta (2012) 178: 171–178

DOI: 10.1007/s00604-012-0819-0

This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief.

Reason: Following information that Figure 1 in this publication (see the picture on top) may have been manipulated, further investigation revealed that the nanoparticles are pixel for pixel the same in every instance, suggesting that they are the same nanoparticle image-copied and pasted. Certain nanoparticles have a harsh white boundary at the bottom right corner independent of whether they are located on top of another nanoparticle or on the background image. Finally, an image integrity check (bottom picture) established significant differences in noise levels between the nanoparticles and the background.

figure a

The authors were given the opportunity to respond to these allegations. Following a balanced discussion of the allegations and after having consulted experts, the Editors of Microchimica Acta have come to the conclusion (on 10 Jan. 2016) that there is striking evidence for manipulation.

Based on the results of this investigation, the Editor-in-Chief is retracting this article, consistent with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

In this context, Prof. Gehan A. J. Amaratunag (Chief of Research and Innovation at SLINTEC), provided the following statement:

“The only connection SLINTEC has with this publication is that of Dr Koneswaran being an employee in 2012 when the paper was published and that SLINTEC was his address for communication at that time. Institutionally we were not aware that Dr Koneswaran had published this paper in Microchimica Acta. None of the experiments reported were carried out at SLINTEC. Dr Koneswaran has not been an employee of SLINTEC since January 2013.”