The effect of 2 ns pulses of 355 nm laser light on aqueous solutions of pazelliptine (PZE) was investigated and biphotonic ionization was observed. The absorption spectrum corresponding to the pazelliptine radical cation (PZE+) and the hydrated electron simultaneously formed in this process was determined. In the absence of oxygen, eaq- reacted with unexcited PZE (k = 1.6 x 10(10) M-1 s-1) to give the pazelliptine radical anion (PZE-). This latter species was identified by separate pulse radiolysis experiments. The radicals cation and anion disappeared by recombination on the millisecond time range. In presence of oxygen, eaq- was scavenged by O2 leading to the formation of the superoxide radical (O2.-) in competition to the formation of the radical PZE.-.PZE+ reacted with O2.- to produce H2O2 (k = 9 x 10(9) M-1 s-1). The spectral analysis revealed that PZE triplet was also formed during the laser pulse. In the absence of oxygen, the triplet-triplet absorption decreased on the microsecond time scale (2k = 1.5 x 10(10) M-1 s-1). In oxygenated solutions, eaq- and the pazelliptine triplet decayed exponentially in the same time range.