DC CONDUCTION STUDIES IN AMYLASE

DC conductivity measurements have been carried out on an enzyme amylas e (EC 3.2.2.1) in solid pellet form, provided with silver-coated elect rodes. The results are presented in the form of current-voltage charac teristics for the temperature range 300-360 K. The analysis of the res ults obtained by plotting the temperature dependence of current densit y, Poole-Frenkel plots, Schottky plots, Richardson plots and Arrhenius plots shows that the Schottky-Richardson mechanism is responsible for the observed d.c. conduction in amylase. Furthermore, the presence of Schottky barriers at the metal electrode-insulator interface suggests that, by using silver electrodes, satisfactory contacts can be achiev ed for electrical investigations on biomaterials. (C) 1998 Society of Chemical Industry