Measurements of the quasistatic and frequency dependent electrical conductivity below 1 MHz were carried out on wet-spun, macroscopically oriented, calf thymus deoxyribonucleic (DNA) and umbilical cord hyaluronic acid (HA) bulk samples. The frequency dependence of the electrical conductivity in the frequency range of approximately ${10}^{-3}\text{–}{10}^6\mathrm{Hz}$ of both materials is surprisingly rather similar. Temperature dependence of the quasistatic electrical conductivity above the low temperature saturation plateau can be well described by the activated Arrhenius law with the activation energy of $\approx 0.8\mathrm{eV}$ for both DNA and HA. We discuss the meaning of these findings for the possible conduction mechanism in these particular charged polyelectrolytes.

• Received 18 June 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.71.041901