Anti-herpetic Activity of 5-Iodo-2′-deoxyuridine in Presence of Its Degradation Products

Summary

Antagonism of the antiviral activity of 5-iodo-2′deoxyuridine (IUDR) by its degradation products, 5-iodouracil and deoxyuridine, was not demonstrable either in chick embryo fibroblasts or in rabbit kidney cells grown in culture and infected with a strain of herpes simplex virus. The degradation products were tested in concentrations far in excess of those previously reported to be antagonistic by Maloney and Kaufman. Prolonged storage of ‘Stoxil,’ a 0.1% solution of IUDR containing 0.002% thimerosal, did not affect the antiviral activity of these preparations.