Marcin Ptaszek

Marcin Ptaszek is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). His research focuses on developing novel hydroporphyrin-based molecular arrays for deep-red and near-IR light absorption and conversion, with applications in fluorescence bioimaging, photodynamic therapy, and artificial photosynthesis.

• Primary Affiliation: UMBC Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
• Academic Rank: Associate Professor
• Research Focus: Chemistry and photochemistry of hydroporphyrins (chlorins, bacteriochlorins)

Research interests include:

• Designing water-soluble, target-specific fluorophores with narrow emission bands (700-900 nm) for in vivo multicolor detection
• Developing strongly conjugated bacteriochlorin dyads for tunable near-IR photonic properties
• Creating hydroporphyrin energy transfer arrays for fluorescence-guided surgery and phototherapy

His work enables ultrafast charge transfer systems, modulates optical properties via through-bond/spatial electronic interactions, and explores activatable probes with chemical stimulus-responsive fluorescence. Collaborations with the Hisataka Kobayashi group (NCI NIH) produced protein-conjugated bacteriochlorins for ovarian cancer metastasis imaging.