Reversible assembly-disassembly of plasmonic spherical nucleic acids enabling temperature-self-controllable and biomarker-activatable photothermal effects.

Since the photothermal heating of plasmonic spherical nucleic acids (pSNAs) depends on the self-assembly level and melting temperature (Tm), a temperature-self-controllable and biomarker-activatable photothermal effect in vivo was thus achieved using the Tm-dependent assembly-disassembly of pSNAs.