Electrical conductivity of aqueous solutions of polyethylene glycol

New data on the electrical conductivity and viscosity of aqueous solutions of polyethylene glycol were obtained and used as reference data in studying the ionic channels of biological membranes. Over wide ranges of concentration and polymer molecular weight, conductivity was independent of the molecular weight for long chains and weakly depended on the molecular weight for short chains. Several models suggested in the literature for solving the general problem of the diffusion of a tracer in polymeric solutions are discussed. The processes responsible for a decrease in the mobility of ions were qualitatively analyzed to explain the weak conductivity sensitivity to the length of polymer chains. It is shown that experiments can be interpreted using the microviscosity concept. Microviscosity increases with the addition of a polymer much less rapidly than usual (macroscopic) viscosity. A simple empirical formula describing the dependence of conductivity on the polymer concentration is suggested.