Several analogues of bradykinin and [des-Arg9]bradykinin with potentially reactive groups have been tested for their biological activities. In these analogues, phenylalanine was replaced by the aromatic amino acid (4'-nitro)Phe, (4'-amino)Phe, (4'-azido)Phe, and (4'-diazonium)Phe, as well as with other residues. [Des-Arg9]bradykinin and the octapeptide analogues were tested on rabbit aorta strips, an assay organ containing the B1 receptor which is activated by the octapeptide [des-Arg9]bradykinin. Strips of rabbit jugular vein served as bioassays for bradykinin and the nonapeptide analogues, because the rabbit jugular vein bears the receptor B2 which is sensitive to bradykinin nonapeptides. The biological findings support the interpretation that kinins act on two different receptor types, since the potency orders of the analogues in the two bioassays are different. All potential photolabels retained reasonable affinities in the dark, except [(4'-azido)Phe8,des-Arg9]bradykinin, which, however, proved to be a weak and competitive antagonist of [des-Arg9]bradykinin on the rabbit aorta. Inactivation experiments with the unstable (4'-diazonium)Phe-containing peptides did not show any irreversible effect in the two bioassays. Photoaffinity labeling experiments with the azido and the nitro peptides gave irreversible and specific effects on both the rabbit aorta and the jugular vein. [(4'-Azido)Phe8,des-Arg9]bradykinin photolyzed at 365 nm on the rabbit aorta reduced the sensitivity of this tissue against [des-Arg9]bradykinin specifically to about one-third of its initial value. [(4'-Azido)Phe5]bradykinin reduced the sensitivity of the rabbit jugular vein to bradykinin by more than 50%. The observed irreversible effects were always loss of myotropic activity and never permanent contraction.