Biocompatibility and bioelimination are basic requirements for systematically administered nanomaterials for biomedical purposes. Gold-based plasmonic nanomaterials have shown potential applications in photothermal cancer therapy. However, their inability to biodegrade has impeded practical biomedical application. In this study, a kind of bioeliminable magnetoplasmonic nanoassembly (MPNA), assembled from an Fe3O4 nanocluster and gold nanoshell, was elaborately designed for computed tomography, photoacoustic tomography, and magnetic resonance trimodal imaging-guided tumor photothermal therapy. A single dose of photothermal therapy under near-infrared light induced a complete tumor regression in mice. Importantly, MPNAs could respond to the local microenvironment with acidic pH and enzymes where they accumulated including tumors, liver, spleen, etc., collapse into small molecules and discrete nanoparticles, and finally be cleared from the body. With the bioelimination ability from the body, a high dose of 400 mg kg(-1) MPNAs had good biocompatibility. The MPNAs for cancer theranostics pave a way toward biodegradable bio-nanomaterials for biomedical applications.
