Used as a substrate in enzymatic assays to measure glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity, which is crucial for diagnosing medical conditions such as G6PD deficiency leading to hemolytic anemia. It plays a key role in biochemical research to study metabolic pathways, particularly the pentose phosphate pathway and its connection to glycolysis for NADPH production and redox balance. Additionally, it is utilized in industrial fermentation processes to optimize microbial growth and production efficiency.