Publisher won’t retract most papers by chemist editor-in-chief who left university post under a cloud

The retractions appear to be trickling in for Thomas Webster, a once-prominent chemistry researcher who left his post at Northeastern University after nearly 70 of his papers were flagged on PubPeer for concerns about the data in the studies. 

But while the publisher of a journal he co-founded — and left earlier this year — has retracted one paper, it said it would correct, not retract, nine of the papers he co-authored.

So far, we have seen two recent retractions for Webster, one involving a previously corrected 2015 paper in the journal Nanomedicine titled “Antibacterial and osteogenic stem cell differentiation properties of photoinduced TiO2 nanoparticle-decorated TiO2 nanotubes,” which has been cited 37 times, according to Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science. The retraction notice for that article states: 

The authors previously highlighted an issue relating to Figure 6 (Fluorescence images showing the viability of the Streptococcus mutans on samples) in this paper and a corrigendum was published to remove it. It was determined that the conclusions of the study were still valid without this figure.

However, it has since been identified that parts of the figure in question contained manipulated images. The authors have reconsidered the completeness of the paper and have decided to retract it.

The authors and editors of Nanomedicine regret any negative consequences this publication might have caused in the scientific and medical communities.

Also retracted was another 2015 study, “Formulation and Evaluation of a Topical Niosomal Gel Containing a Combination of Benzoyl Peroxide and Tretinoin for Antiacne Activity,” published in the International Journal of Nanomedicine — a journal Webster founded and from which he stepped down as editor-in-chief earlier this year. The paper has been cited 27 times, according to Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science. 

Per the notice: 

The Publisher and Editor of International Journal of Nanomedicine wish to retract the published article. It came to the journals attention that several images shown in Figure 16 of the article appeared to be duplicated. Specifically,

— The three panels in the top row, Control group (without inducing acne), appears to show duplicated versions of the same image which have been frame shifted and had their size altered.

— The left and right panels of the row, Acne induced group 1, appear to show duplicated versions of the same image with the left panel being an enlarged version of the image on the right.

— The middle panel of the row, Acne induced group 1, and the three panels of the row, Acne induced group 2, appear to be duplicated versions of the same image which have been frame shifted and undergone size alterations.

— The left and middle panels of the row, Rabbit ear pinna after treatment with cream formulation for 14 days, appear to show duplicated regions of the same image which have been rotated.

— The left panel of the row, Rabbit ear pinna after treatment with cream formulation for 14 days, appears to be duplicated with the image shown in the right panel of the bottom row, Rabbit ear pinna after treatment with niosomal gel formulation for 14 days, but this image has been rotated.

— The left and middle panels of the bottom row, Rabbit ear pinna after treatment with niosomal gel formulation for 14 days, appear to show the same duplicated image with have been rotated and had their size altered.

The authors could not provide a satisfactory explanation for the alleged image manipulation nor could they provide copies of the original images.

In addition to the retractions, Webster has received several corrections. For example, a 2020 paper titled “Co-delivery of Poria cocos extract and doxorubicin as an ‘all-in-one’ nanocarrier to combat breast cancer multidrug resistance during chemotherapy,” which appeared in Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine and has been cited six times, now carries the following corrigendum:

The authors regret that Figure 6 and Figure 7 present in the article “Co-delivery of Poria cocos extract and doxorubicin as an ‘all-in-one’ nanocarrier to combat breast cancer multidrug resistance during chemotherapy” possessed some inadvertent errors for the Western blot bands. Here we re-performed and validated this experiment and obtained the results as shown below in the corrected Figure 6 and Figure 7. The Figure 6E and 6F in original text were corrected and combined as Figure 6B and Figure 6C respectively. We confirm that our original conclusion is correct and is consistent with the previous results. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this error may cause. 

After the paper was flagged on PubPeer, co-author Yan Shen, of China Pharmaceutical University in Nanjing, responded: 

Thank you for paying attention to our manuscript . Actually this WB experiment was conducted by a biotech company and the figure was also provided by this company. We will investigate this and give you a reasonable explanation ASAP.

To many of posts on PubPeer, Webster responded: “We are investigating this,” or something similar. 

Elaine Devine, a spokesperson for Taylor & Francis, which owns Dove Press — the publisher of the International Journal of Nanomedicine — told us: 

this is the only retraction notice Dove Press are publishing for a paper authored or co-authored by Dr. Webster (correction notices have been published on other papers). Dr. Webster stood down as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Nanomedicine in March 2021.

Devine said the corrected papers are: 

• Understanding Greater Cardiomyocyte Functions on Aligned Compared to Random Carbon Nanofibers in PLGA [Corrigendum] – https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S320915
• Cytoprotective Effects of Cerium and Selenium Nanoparticles on Heat-Shocked Human Dermal Fibroblasts: An in vitro Evaluation [Corrigendum] – https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S322672
• Tat-Functionalized Liposomes for the Treatment of Meningitis: An in vitro Study [Corrigendum] – https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S292362
• Doxorubicin-Loaded Poly (Lactic-Co-Glycolic Acid) Nanoparticles Coated with Chitosan/Alginate by Layer by Layer Technology for Antitumor Applications [Corrigendum] – https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S322673
• Antibacterial Properties of PEKK for Orthopedic Applications [Corrigendum] – https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S322675
• Synthesis and Study of Cell-Penetrating Peptide-Modified Gold Nanoparticles [Corrigendum] – https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S322677
• A High Bioavailability and Sustained-Release Nano-Delivery System for Nintedanib Based on Electrospray Technology [Corrigendum] – https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S322680
• Comparison of Cytocompatibility and Anticancer Properties of Traditional and Green Chemistry-Synthesized Tellurium Nanowires [Corrigendum] – https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S322679
• Construction and in vivo/in vitro Evaluation of a Nanoporous Ion-Responsive Targeted Drug Delivery System for Recombinant Human Interferon α-2b Delivery [Corrigendum] – https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S322682

She added: 

Regarding the decision to correct for these papers, each one was independently reviewed, which has guided the decision-making here (in line with COPE guidance). They found that the issues did not impact the scientific integrity of the paper, so long as the authors could provide a satisfactory explanation, which they were able to do.

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