Pro-oxidant properties of indolone-N-oxides in relation to their antimalarial properties

Indolone-N-oxides (INODs) generate radical intermediates by reduction which may initiate a fatal redox signal within parasitized erythrocytes. This reaction is not iron-dependent. INODs present physico- and bio-chemical properties which are different of those of existing antimalarial drugs to which the parasite has become resistant.