Wiktionary
n. 1 (context organic compound English) Any of several isomeric ketones derived from quinoline. 2 (context medicine English) Any of a range of broad-spectrum antibiotics, related to nalidixic acid, based on this structure.
Wikipedia
The quinolones are a family of synthetic broad-spectrum antibiotic drugs. Quinolones, and derivatives, have also been isolated from natural sources (such as plants, animals and bacteria) and can act as natural antimicrobials and/or signalling molecules.
Quinolones exert their antibacterial effect by preventing bacterial DNA from unwinding and duplicating. The majority of quinolones in clinical use are fluoroquinolones, which have a fluorine atom attached to the central ring system, typically at the 6-position or C-7 position. Most of them are named with the -oxacin suffix.
Usage examples of "quinolone".
These compounds, such as the sulphonamides, the quinolones, and the diaminopyrimidines, would gum up bacterial DNA itself, or break its strands, or destroy the template mechanism that reads from the DNA and helps to replicate it.