N. Kostevšek, S. Šturm and K. Žužek Rožman from the Jožef Stefan Institute, Department for Nanostructured Materials, in collaboration with partners from Bologna, Trieste and Torino, have published in Chemical Communications an article entitled The one-step synthesis and surface functionalization of dumbbell-like gold–iron oxide nanoparticles: a chitosan-based nano-theranostic system. It was shown that the hybrid Au-Fe oxide nanoparticles, equipped with a biocompatible chitosan coating, are introducing an effective system for biomedical diagnostics and therapy. As prepared, nanoparticles exhibit photo-acoustic effect, which presents a new and non-invasive way of imaging. Moreover, their photo-thermal response can be used for an efficient and selective treatment of the targeted tissues.