Used in biochemical and pharmaceutical research as a non-natural amino acid for peptide synthesis, particularly in the development of enzyme inhibitors and receptor ligands. Serves as a building block for synthesizing modified proteins and antibodies with enhanced stability or specific binding properties. Also employed in studies related to phenylketonuria (PKU) to understand metabolic pathways involving phenylalanine analogs. Its amino and carboxyl functional groups allow conjugation with other molecules for use in diagnostic probes or drug delivery systems.