Salicyl fluorone is widely used as a sensitive reagent in analytical chemistry for the spectrophotometric determination of various metal ions, particularly aluminum, gallium, and indium. It forms colored complexes with these metals, enabling their detection and quantification in environmental, biological, and industrial samples. Additionally, it is employed in fluorescence-based assays due to its strong fluorescent properties, making it useful in biochemical research for studying metal ion interactions in biological systems. Its application extends to material science, where it is used in the development of optical sensors and probes for metal ion detection.