Kinetic data for the hydrolysis of N-picolinoylimidazole (I) and 2,4-dinitrophenylpicolinate (II) in AOT [bis(2-ethylhexyl) sodium sulfosuccinate] microemulsions are used to determine for the first time the two partition constants for each substrate (i.e. K(wi) and K(oi), corresponding to the incorporation of substrate molecules from water microdroplets and the continuous medium, respectively, into the interface). Application of the pseudophase formalism to the partition constants allowed the rate constant in each phase to be determined. The rate of hydrolysis of II increased with decreasing polarity of the medium; as a result, the hydrolysis reaction took place largely at the interface. On the other hand, the rate of hydrolysis of acylimidazole I decreased with decreasing polarity, possibly as a result of changes in the resonance structures of the reagent causing the hydrolysis process to occur preferentially in water microdroplets.