Merbarone

**Semantic type:** Organic Chemical|Pharmacologic Substance

**Definition:** A nonsedating derivative of thiobarbituric acid and a novel catalytic topoisomerase II inhibitor with antineoplastic activity. Merbarone interferes with DNA replication via binding directly to topoisomerase II at a domain that maybe shared by other topoisomerase II cleavage-enhancing agents, ex., etoposide. Its mechanism of action appears to be a novel one, since merbarone does not intercalate DNA nor stabilize DNA-topoisomerase II cleavable complexes.

**Synonyms:** - MERBARONE