3,4-dihydroxy-3-cyclobutene-1,2 dione, commonly known as squaric acid, is widely used in bioorganic and medicinal chemistry. It is an inhibitor of glyoxylase, semiqauric acid, pyruvate dehrogenase, and transketolase. It is used as a replacement for phosphate in a peptide-based ligand for an SH2 domain. Its derivatives are high-affinity ligands for excitatory amino acid receptors. These derivatives are also used as dyes for fluorescence detection of small biological molecules.