Used as a chiral building block in the synthesis of pharmaceutical intermediates, particularly in the development of neuroactive compounds and enzyme inhibitors. Its naphthyl group enhances lipophilicity, improving blood-brain barrier penetration, making it valuable in central nervous system drug design. Also employed in asymmetric synthesis due to its stereogenic center, enabling the production of enantiomerically pure drugs. Commonly utilized in research settings for probing amino acid transporter activity and designing peptidomimetics.