Used primarily as an intermediate in organic synthesis, especially in the preparation of glycosylation reagents and carbohydrate-based compounds. Its protected sugar structure with a phenylthio group makes it valuable in the construction of complex oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates, which are important in pharmaceutical research, particularly in vaccine development and drug design targeting infectious diseases and cancer. The acetate groups allow for selective deprotection, enabling stepwise assembly of sugar chains. Commonly employed in stereoselective synthesis due to its defined chiral centers.