Cayman and FLIR Give Law Enforcement an Edge in the Battle Against Designer Drugs

PORTLAND, OR and ANN ARBOR, MI (July 17, 2012) – FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) and Cayman Chemical Company  Cayman Chemical and FLIR Systems have come together to provide law enforcement with a powerful new tool in the battle against designer drugs by using Cayman Chemical’s forensic standards to create a Mass Spectral Library for FLIR’s Griffin 460 transportable Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) system. 

Designer drugs such as “Bath Salts”, synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, and amphetamine analogues present a unique challenge to the law enforcement and forensic community in regards to identification. The newest designer drugs have intentional chemical modifications that eliminate known atomic signatures, preventing identification and regulation.

GC/MS is the laboratory gold standard for forensic analysis of chemical substances, including designer drugs. It is a highly selective technology that can differentiate between similar chemical structures in a single sample. FLIR brings this lab capability to the field for rapid analysis and confirmation of narcotics threats on-site.  The addition of Cayman Chemical’s forensic standards further enables the FLIR engineered Griffin 460 to give law enforcement an edge. The collaborative effort between Cayman and FLIR has accelerated the reality of providing a forensically-relevant designer drug database that is available today and that can also be updated as new threats emerge. 

The Griffin 460 is the world’s most advanced field-ready GC/MS system and is suitable for a number of different applications including forensic missions both inside the lab and out. By providing laboratory caliber chemical confirmation on-site, the Griffin 460 helps to combat dangerous new drugs by bringing the lab to the sample for rapid enforcement response. Griffin GC/MS systems are extensively deployed worldwide as forensics tools in support of narcotics, explosives and other chemical identification and confirmation missions.

Cayman Chemical Company helps make research possible by supplying scientists worldwide with biochemical tools used to understand cancer, neurochemistry, oxidative injury, endocrinology, atherosclerosis, and other human health challenges. Cayman specializes in assay kits for the measurement of hormones and bio-markers. In addition, Cayman offers a broad range of specialty biochemicals used as research reagents and qualified standards. Cayman performs generic drug development and production in both Ann Arbor, Michigan and Neratovice, Czech Republic. Cayman employs approximately 300 people worldwide.  Visit the company’s web site at www.caymanchemical.com.