Education:

Postdoctoral Fellow, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2013
Ph.D., Western Michigan University, 2012
M.Sc., Addis Ababa University, 2004
B.Sc., Addis Ababa University, 2001

Research Interests:

Microwave-assisted synthesis, fluorescent and colorimetric sensors, chromophore functionalized nanoparticle-based sensors, bioinorganic, spectroscopy, and environmental chemistry. The main research focus of the Abebe lab is to design, synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of fluorescent small organic molecules for sensing and recognition of various biological metal ions. Our goal is to use these ratiometric fluorescent compounds to track the accumulation, speciation, and trafficking of biological metal ions in live cells using fluorescence in vivo imaging techniques.

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=oTHyyYIAAAAJ&view_op

Selected Publications: (Total: 25, h-index 5, i10 index 4, Citations: 239)

• F. Abebe, J. Gonzalez, K. Makins-Dennis, R. Shaw. A New bis(rhodamine)-Based Colorimetric Chemosensor for Cu2+. Inorganic chemistry Communications, 120, (2020), 108154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inoche.2020.108154
• F. Abebe, P. Pierce, R. Shaw, S. Tadesse. A rhodamine-based fluorescent sensor for selective detection of Cu2+ in aqueous media: Synthesis and spectroscopic properties. Molecular Structure, 205 (2020), 127594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molstruc.2019.127594
• F. Abebe, S. Treshaun, P. Pierce, R. Shaw. Two colorimetric fluorescent turn-on sensors for detection Al3+and N3-: Synthesis, photophysical and computational studies. Luminescence, 33 (2018), 1194-1201. https://doi.org/10.1002/bio.3535
• F. Abebe, S. Treshaun, P. Pierce, M.D. Khalil, A. Winstead. Microwave-assisted synthesis of rhodamine derivatives. Green chemistry letters and review, 11 (2018), 237-245. https://doi.org/10.1080/17518253.2018.1472814
• M.A. Abdalrahman, Abebe, F., J. Briggs, W.S. Kassel, S.C. Burdette, W.R. Seitz, R.P. Planalp. Bifunctional 2, 2':6', 2"-terpyridine-based ligands for ratiometric Cu (II) sensing. Journal of Coordination chemistry, 70 (2017), 1123-1136. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958972.2017.1300660
• Weerasinghe, A.J., Abebe, F.A., Venter, A., Sinn, E. Rhodamine based turn-on sensors for Cr3+ and Ni2+: detecting CN- via the metal displacement approach of sensor-Cr3+ complex. Journal of Fluorescence, 26 (2016), 891. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-016-1777-4
• F. Abebe. P. Perkins, A. Winstead. (E)3′, 6′-bis (Diethylamine)-2-[(2-methoxynaphthalen-1-yl) methyleneamino] spiro [isoindoline-1, 9′-xanthen]-3-one. Molbank 2017, 3, (2017), M955.
• Weerasinghe, A.J., Abebe, F. A., Sinn, E., Rhodamine based turn-on dual sensor for Fe3+ and Cu2+, Tetrahedron Letters 52 (2011), 5648-5651.
• Abebe, F. A., Sinn, E. Fluorescein-based fluorescent and colorimetric chemosensors for Copper in aqueous media, Tetrahedron Letters 52 (2011) 5234-5237.