Used primarily as a derivatizing agent in analytical chemistry, especially in the detection and quantification of amino acids and peptides. It reacts selectively with primary amines to form stable chromophoric or fluorogenic products, making it useful in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis. Its trifluoromethyl group enhances electrophilicity and improves detection sensitivity due to the electron-withdrawing effect, which also increases the stability of the reaction intermediates. Commonly employed in biochemical research for labeling biomolecules prior to mass spectrometry or fluorescence-based analysis.