Used primarily as a chiral resolving agent in the pharmaceutical industry, enabling the separation of enantiomers from racemic mixtures. Its ability to form diastereomeric salts with chiral amines or bases allows for the isolation of optically pure compounds, which is critical in drug development where one enantiomer may be therapeutically active while the other is inactive or harmful. Commonly applied in the resolution of amphetamines and other psychoactive substances during research and quality control. Also employed in asymmetric synthesis as a building block for more complex chiral molecules. Its cyclopentyl group enhances lipophilicity, improving solubility characteristics in organic solvents, which facilitates crystallization processes essential for effective resolution.