Several novel 5-substituted 2'-deoxyuridine (dUrd) analogs were evaluated as substrates for highly purified herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)-encoded thymidine kinase (TK) derived from HSV-1 TK gene-transfected murine mammary carcinoma FM3A cells, and human platelet thymidine (dThd) phosphorylase.