Used as a protected intermediate in the synthesis of biologically active imidazole-containing compounds, particularly in pharmaceutical development. The tert-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) group stabilizes the imidazole nitrogen during peptide coupling or heterocyclic assembly, allowing selective reactions at other functional sites. Commonly applied in the preparation of kinase inhibitors, antifungal agents, and histamine receptor modulators. Its protection strategy is valued in solid-phase and solution-phase synthesis due to mild deprotection conditions, typically with acid treatment.