Degradation of chlorambucil in aqueous solution

The stability of chlorambucil and its degradation product 4-[p-(2-chloroethyl-2-hydroxyethylamino)phenyl]butyric acid (I) was studied using reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography. The degradation rate of chlorambucil was unaffected by pH between pH 5 and 10 but decreased at lower pH. The degradation rates of chlorambucil and I differed only slightly (pH < 6). The proteolytic properties of the compounds were studied using spectrophotometric and partition techniques.