CAPE BUSINESS DONATES EQUIPMENT TO SEMO CRIME LAB

Golden Cat's Product Development Quality Control Lab on Airport Road has donated three used chemical instruments to Southeast Missouri State University.

The SEMO Regional Crime Lab received a mass spectrometer Finnigan Ion Trap, which will be used to analyze drugs in "street" form and in urine, said Dr. Robert Briner, director of the crime lab.

The spectrometer, which will back up two similar spectrometers in the lab, will be in the chemistry department where it also can be used by students and faculty, Briner said.

"It's very much appreciated," he said, adding that to buy such a piece of equipment new would cost more than $30,000.

Golden Cat also donated a gas chromatograph to the chemistry department. The instrument separates and identifies organic volatile compounds, said Dr. Ronald Popham, chairman of Southeast's chemistry department.

The gas chromatograph costs about $15,000 new and will work in tandem with the mass spectrometer. It could be used, for instance, to analyze chlorinated pesticides in lakes or rivers, Popham said.

"We have been trying to get this combination of instrumentation through a 50-50 matching grant from the National Science Foundation for three years," he said.

In addition, the chemistry department has received an Atomic Absorption Instrument from Golden Cat. It analyzes trace metals such as lead in drinking water, Popham said. The instrument, which is valued at about $25,000 new, will complement a similar unit already housed in the chemistry department.

Golden Cat donated the equipment after Ralston Purina purchased Golden Cat's Product Development Quality Control Lab and consolidated it into the Ralston Purina Lab in St. Louis, Briner said.