1,1,3,3-Tetrabromoacetone is a good source of the 1,3-dibromooxyallyl cation, a synthetic equivalent of the oxyallyl cation; especially useful for [4 + 3] cycloadditions.
1,1,3,3-Tetrabromoacetone is an intermediate in the synthesis of 3-Chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone-13C5, which is an isotope labelled Mutagen X (MX) is a chlorinated furanone that accounts for more of the mutagenic activity of drinking water than any other disinfection byproduct. DNA damages provoked by the six mutagens (furylframide, MX, 4-nitroquinoline N-oxide, sodium azide, 1-nitropyrene, and captan) used in the present study have been known to subject to the nucleotide excision repair system.