Cell permeable, non-alkylating, non-thiol, adduct-forming, redox cycling quinone. Intracellular superoxide anion formation/ROS generation inducer. Anticancer agent. Shown to induce cell proliferation, apoptosis, necrosis and necroptosis in vitro, dependent on concentration, time, temperature and cell type. Valuable tool for the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in order to study the role of ROS in cell toxicity, apoptosis and necrosis. Useful as reference compound in characterizing the effects of oxidative stress. Can be used to eliminate any mechanistic ambiguity involving redox cycling quinoids as the source of reactive oxidant species/oxidative stress in biological studies.