Used in the synthesis of pharmaceutical intermediates, particularly in the development of radiolabeled compounds for medical imaging such as positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). The iodine substituent allows for facile substitution reactions, including carbon-carbon bond formation via commercial cross-coupling methods like Suzuki or Heck reactions, and enables incorporation into molecules through radioiodination. The hydroxyl group facilitates further functionalization, allowing linkage to targeting vectors such as peptides or small molecules designed to bind specific biological receptors. Also employed in the preparation of analogs for structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies in drug discovery, especially in oncology and neurology research, as well as pharmacokinetic studies in animal models.