Used in pharmaceutical research as a potent and selective agonist for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, particularly the α4β2 subtype. It shows potential in the development of treatments for neurological disorders such as depression, cognitive impairment, and neuropathic pain. Its structural properties allow for high blood-brain barrier penetration, making it valuable in central nervous system drug design. Also serves as a key intermediate in synthesizing analogs for structure-activity relationship studies.