Used primarily as a photochemical crosslinking agent in biochemical and molecular biology research. Its main application lies in photoaffinity labeling, where it helps identify and study interactions between biomolecules such as proteins and ligands. Upon exposure to UV light, the diazirine ring generates highly reactive carbenes that insert into nearby C–H, N–H, or O–H bonds, forming covalent links between interacting molecules. This allows researchers to capture transient or weak biomolecular interactions that are difficult to study by other methods. The presence of the hydroxyl group enables further chemical modification, facilitating conjugation to probes, tags, or solid supports for detection or purification purposes. It is especially valuable in mapping binding sites and studying protein-protein or protein-nucleic acid interactions in complex biological systems.