Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) has attracted great attention in the last decade and recently it has been successfully applied to nanolithography due to its ability of beyond diffraction limit. This article reviews the recent development in plasmonic nanolithography, which is considered as one of the most remarkable technology for next-generation nanolithography. Nanolithography experiments were highlighted on the basis of SPPs effect. Three types of plasmonic nanolithography methods: contact nanolithography, planar lens imaging nanolithography, and direct writing nanolithography were reviewed in detail, and their advantages and shortages are analyzed and compared, respectively. Finally, the development trend of plasmonic nanolithography is suggested.

Semiconducting polymer nanoparticles (PDPPTBZ NPs) with a high mass extinction coefficient of 43 mL mg−1 cm−1 at 1064 nm have been devised as a contrast agent for deep photoacoustic imaging of gliomas under ultralow laser fluence (4 mJ cm−2).

Phototheranostic technology based on photoacoustic imaging (PAI) and photothermal therapy (PTT) is emerging as a powerful tool for tumor theranostic applications. For effective tumor eradication, a novel PAI/PTT theranostic nanoagent with an excellent optical absorption and photothermal capability is highly desired. Herein, we present a new PAI/PTT nanohybrid named sMoSe2-ICG NSs by covalently conjugating aminated indocyanine green (ICG) onto a single layer of molybdenum selenide nanosheets (sMoSe2 NSs). We first validate the sMoSe2-ICG NS agent for the PAI and PTT effect in vitro and then use it for highly-sensitive PAI guided highly efficient tumor PTT in vivo. The sMoSe2-ICG NS hybrid possesses several advantages for PAI/PTT applications: (1) the sMoSe2-ICG NSs have strong absorbance in the broad near-infrared (NIR) region, enabling a highly efficient PAI/PTT theranostic effect and the selection of the most widely used excitation wavelength of 808 nm for PTT; (2) the photothermal ability of ICG in sMoSe2-ICG NSs is augmented due to ICG aggregation induced fluorescence quenching and the re-absorbance of ICG fluorescence by sMoSe2 NSs, which further enhances the PAI/PTT theranostic effect. (3) The characteristic absorption peak of sMoSe2-ICG NSs is red-shifted compared to free ICG, resulting in a higher PAI signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in vivo. Thus, combined with the good stability, high biocompatibility and minimal toxicity properties, the obtained sMoSe2-ICG NSs hybrid has bright prospects for use in future PAI/PTT clinical applications.