The adsorption behavior of oxazole and isoxazole heterocycles over the (6,0) zigzag and (5,5) armchair boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) has been studied within the formalism of density functional theory (DFT). The adsorption energies, the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analysis and the structural changes at the adsorption site are indicative of covalent adsorption on the zigzag BNNT surface, while the adsorption is physical in nature on the armchair BNNT surface. The role of solvent in improving the adsorption properties over the BNNT surface is elucidated by reoptimizing the structures in aqueous phase. The solvation energy is indicative of remarkable increase in the solubility of BNNTs after adsorption of heterocyclic rings. The Density of states (DOS) Plots, natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis and the quantum molecular descriptors (QMD) are witness to the substantial changes in the electronic properties of the BNNT systems following the attachment of these heterocycles with the tube surface. The study envisages the functionalization of the BNNT as well as its applicability as carrier of the drugs containing heterocyclic rings oxazole and isoxazole with marked sensitivity to the type of adsorbate and the adsorbent. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.