Used in research as a precursor in the synthesis of fluorinated pyrimidines for anticancer and antiviral agents. Serves as a building block in the preparation of nucleoside analogs. Employed in studies of enzyme inhibition, particularly in thymidylate synthase research. Applied in molecular biology for probing nucleic acid structure and function. Also utilized in the development of chemotherapeutic compounds due to its structural similarity to uracil, allowing incorporation into RNA to disrupt normal cellular processes in target cells.