Carboquone

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

**Definition:** An aziridinylbenzoquinone-based alkylating agent with potential antineoplastic activity. The alkylating group in carboquone becomes activated upon reduction of quinone to the hydroquinone form. This eventually results in the alkylation and crosslinking of DNA, thereby inhibiting DNA replication followed by an induction of apoptosis. In addition, reactive oxygen species may form during redox cycling which may contribute to this agent's cytotoxic activity.

**Synonyms:** - CARBOQUONE