N-Alkylated derivatives of 5-fluorouracil

Some N-alkyl derivatives of 5-fluorouracil were designed to act as latent depot forms of 5-fluorouracil. A general and efficient method for the syntheses of the alkylated derivatives is described. As expected, the alkylated derivatives of 5-fluorouracil did not show any cytotoxicity in cell culture systems even up to 10(-4) M concentration. The synthesis of 1,3-dimethyl-5-fluoro-5,6-dihydrouracil is also described.