Used as a key intermediate in the synthesis of β-lactam antibiotics, particularly penems and carbapenems. Its strained four-membered ring structure enables efficient construction of the core scaffold found in many potent antimicrobial agents. Commonly employed in medicinal chemistry for side-chain modifications and ring elaboration to develop new antibiotic candidates with improved stability and activity against resistant bacterial strains. Also utilized in solid-phase peptide synthesis when β-lactam motifs are required for biological evaluation or enzyme inhibition studies.