Colloidal solution of water in organic solvents: a microheterogeneous medium for enzymatic reactions

To simulate in vitro the conditions under which enzymes act in vivo, enzyme molecules have been entrapped in hydrated reverse micelles of a surfactant in organic solvents. In this system the catalytic activity of one of the enzymes studied (peroxidase) became much higher than in water, and the specificity of the other enzyme (alcohol dehydrogenase) was dramatically altered.