Characteristics and performance improvement of anode supported solid oxide fuel cells based on BaIn(0.)3Ti(0.7)O(2.85) (BIT07) as electrolyte, BIT07-Ni as anode and La(0.58)Sr(0.4)Co(0.2)Fe(0.8)O(3-delta) (LSCF) as cathode

International audienceThis study deals with the electrochemical performance of anode supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) based on perovskite-type materials: BaIn0.3Ti0.7O2.85 (BIT07) as electrolyte, BIT07-Ni as a cermet anode and La0.58Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ (LSCF) as cathode. Anode/electrolyte assemblies have been realised by tape casting and co-firing and the cathode has been deposited by screen-printing. The performance of BIT07-Ni/BIT07/LSCF cells has been determined at 700 °C under humidified (3% H2O) hydrogen as fuel and air as oxidant. Two cells, with different electrolyte thicknesses: 23 and 11 μm, have been tested and they exhibited power densities at 0.7 V around 209 and 336 mW cm−2, respectively. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) measurements have also been carried out and allowed to differentiate between the series and polarisation resistances

Probing the DNA-Binding Affinity and Specificity of Designed Zinc Finger Proteins

Engineered transcription factors and endonucleases based on designed Cys2His2 zinc finger domains have proven to be effective tools for the directed regulation and modification of genes. The introduction of this technology into both research and clinical settings necessitates the development of rapid and accurate means of evaluating both the binding affinity and binding specificity of designed zinc finger domains. Using a fluorescence anisotropy-based DNA-binding assay, we examined the DNA-binding properties of two engineered zinc finger proteins that differ by a single amino acid. We demonstrate that the protein with the highest affinity for a particular DNA site need not be the protein that binds that site with the highest degree of specificity. Moreover, by comparing the binding characteristics of the two proteins at varying salt concentrations, we show that the ionic strength makes significant and variable contributions to both affinity and specificity. These results have significant implications for zinc finger design as they highlight the importance of considering affinity, specificity, and environmental requirements in designing a DNA-binding domain for a particular application