Used in the pharmaceutical industry as a chiral building block for the synthesis of various drugs, particularly in the production of antibiotics and cardiovascular agents. Its chiral nature makes it valuable in resolving racemic mixtures to obtain enantiomerically pure compounds. Also employed in dermatology as an active ingredient in chemical peels due to its skin-lightening and exfoliating properties, helping treat acne, melasma, and photoaging. Additionally, it serves as a derivatizing agent in analytical chemistry for the separation and identification of chiral amines and alcohols.