loading . . . Design of benzo[1,2-b:4,3-bâČ]dithiophene-4,5-dione based donor-acceptor-donor small molecules for efficient near-infrared photothermal therapy Communications Chemistry, Published online: 28 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s42004-026-01955-2One of the most effective molecular designs for organic chromophores with near-infrared (NIR) absorption is the donorâacceptorâdonor (DâAâD) architecture. Here, the authors report a series of D-A-D small molecules based on a benzo[1,2-b:4,3-bâČ]dithiophene-4,5-dione (BDTD-4,5-dione) core, showing that functionalization with N,N-dimethylaniline results in self-assembled nanoparticles that demonstrate NIR-triggered photothermal ablation of cancer cells in vitro. http://dlvr.it/TRDgsC