The nonspecific acid hydrolysis of proteins in aqueous solution becomes a subtratespecific reaction within layer silicates that are capable of swelling. The specificity depends, on the one hand, on the number and distribution of the negative charges in the silicate sheet, and, on the other, on the number and distribution of the c-amino-and guanido groups in the protein. Plausible menon as well [a]. Investigations with these enzyme models are, however, made difficult by the fact that they are only slightly stable in the hydronium form, and, on storage, partial decomposition into a form containing hydroxoaluminum and magnesium cations occurs [69,70].