This is an article that talks about chloroquine and zinc to kill cancer cells. HCQ and CQ (and other chemicals) are zinc ionophores. Zinc is the key. It prevents virii and cancer cells from replicating, allowing to immune system to ramp up and eliminate them. HCQ, CQ allow zinc to pass through the cell walls to do this. That's what zinc ionophore means. It allows zinc to get to where it's needed.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4182877/