Used as a chiral building block in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and bioactive compounds. Its protected carboxylic acid group allows selective reactions at other functional sites, making it valuable in peptide synthesis and the development of glutamate-based analogs. Commonly employed in medicinal chemistry for creating enzyme inhibitors or receptor ligands where stereochemistry is critical. The tert-butyl ester group offers stability under various reaction conditions and can be easily removed when needed, enabling controlled stepwise synthesis in complex molecule assembly.