RETRACTION: Boron Nitride Nanotube-Based Mass Sensing of Zeptogram Scale (Retraction of vol 47, pg 367, 2014) (Retraction of Vol 47, Pg 367, 2014)

The superior biocompatibility of the boron nitride nanotubes makes them suitable for the mass sensing of the zeptogram scale, which can be useful to develop future biosensing applications. In this article, an ultra-sensitive mass sensor system based on single-walled boron nitride nanotubes is proposed considering the molecular structural mechanics-based simulation approach. The molecular structural mechanics-based finite element model of the single-walled boron nitride nanotube is developed considering three-dimensional beam elements and point masses. Implementing the finite element method-based simulation approach, we performed the resonant frequency-based analysis for the mass-based detection of the biological objects and chemical molecules of the zeptogram scale. The present approach is validated with the published molecular mechanics-based results. The proposed molecular structural mechanics-based simulation approach is found to be very effectual in terms of simulation of the real atomic structures of the nanotube. The proposed mass sensor system can achieve extremely high sensitivity at the molecular level, and it can be potentially used for real-time sensing for future health monitoring.