In order to do this, the reaction must take place in a water-free pocket deep inside the enzyme, the walls of which are made up mainly of hydrophobic residues (the substrate for the reaction is, after...In order to do this, the reaction must take place in a water-free pocket deep inside the enzyme, the walls of which are made up mainly of hydrophobic residues (the substrate for the reaction is, after all, highly hydrophobic). The aromatic amino acids phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan are very effective at stabilizing positively charged reaction substrates or intermediates that are bound deep in the hydrophobic core of the enzyme.
