Gas-liquid chromatography of some alkyl derivatives of 5-fluorouracil

Various procedures for converting 5-fluorouracil into its methyl, butyl and hexyl derivatives are described. Structures were established as the N,N'-dialkyl derivatives using mass spectrometry or combined gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The reaction conditions, i.e., the amount of derivatization reagents and reaction time, were optimized. Gas-liquid chromatographic characteristics of the derivatives were investigated on different stationary liquid phases, and 2% or 3% SP-2250, 5% XE-60 and 5% OV-1 were found to be superior. With 5-chlorouracil as the internal standard a linear response for the various derivatives was observed in the microgram range. The applicability of the different dialkyl derivatives in the measurement of 5-fluorouracil in biological materials is discussed.