Femtosecond studies of ionic structures of milrinone-a medicine used to help the heart to recuperate its life-in acidic and alkaline water solutions show that the intramolecular charge transfer in the cation and in the anion happen in 550 fs and similar to 1.2 ps, respectively. These times are longer than 100 fs, observed in the keto (inotropic) form. The transients also show a 2-3 ps component, assigned to cooling and twisting motion in the produced states. The result might be used for a better understanding of other functional molecules. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.