Miniemulsion reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization was used to synthesize biomimetic poly (2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine)-b-Poly (n-butyl methacrylate) (PMPC-b-PBMA) nanoparticles which were used as nanocarriers to encapsulate theranostic IR-780 molecules. IR-780 endowed the PMPC-b-PBMA nanoparticles with dual functions including tumor near-infrared (NIR) imaging and photothermal therapy (PTT). The IR-780 encapsulated PMPC-b-PBMA (PMPC-b-PBMA/IR-780) nanoparticles showed good monodispersity and significant stability. The photothermal effects and photothermal cytotoxicity of the PMPC-b-PBMA/IR-780 nanoparticles were studied in vitro. High accumulation of the PMPC-b-PBMA/IR-780 nanoparticles in tumor tissue was verified by whole-animal NIR imaging. The resulted IR-780 encapsulated biomimetic nanoparticles can be an alternative safe theranostic agent for imaging-guided cancer treatment. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.