Electrical Conduction of a High Polymerized Sample of Sodium Salt of Deoxyribonucleic Acid

Abstract

The electrical conduction of pressed pellets of a high polymerized Na-DNA sample at various stages of drying has been studied. It has been found that in the early stages of drying, the resistance and activation energies are lower in comparison with those values obtained when the sample is further dried. The resistance of a Na-DNA film has been measured at various relative humidities. The activation energies for the film samples in the dry state were also measured. The conduction of Na-DNA is assumed to be due to electrons excited from impurity centers. The activation energy for photoconduction is interpreted as the barrier between neighboring DNA helices hindering the charge-carrier transport.