Since no mention has been found in the literature of any 5-substituted mercapto-5-alkyl derivatives of barbituric acid, it was thought to be of interest to prepare a series of compounds containing sulfur attached directly to the barbituric acid nucleus. 5-substituted mercapto-5-isoamylbarbituric acids were chosen as representative of barbituric acids in which the alkyl group has a fairly high molecular weight.