Dr. Christa Brosseau
When Baie Run Pet Products, a health and wellness pet company focused on dogs and cats' wellbeing, wanted to improve their pet supplements, they turned to Saint Mary's experts for advice.
The Nova Scotia-based company, a branch of United Pet Supplements, makes anti-bacterial and wound healing products. Those products contain Colloidal Silver, a popular and top-selling product in the pet industry that helps heal wounds, hot spots and other dermatological issues for pets.
The company worked with Dr. Christa Brosseau and Dr. Clarissa Sit to develop a manufacturing process for colloidal silver that the manufacturer could follow.
Brosseau, a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Sustainable Chemistry and Materials and full professor at Saint Mary's, developed a silver colloidal manufacturing process that improved the quality of the products that included colloidal silver while working within Health Canada's Guidelines. Her entire team has extensive knowledge of colloidal silver preparation and characterization, working in this field for over a decade.
"As a chemist, it is certainly a great feeling to know that you helped develop a safe and effective product which people can actively use," says Brosseau.
Sit and her research team tested the antimicrobial efficiency of the products. The company has implemented the combination of results from both Brosseau and Sit's teams into their operations. Safe, stable and effective products that contain silver colloidal are available to purchase.
"Working with Dr. Brosseau and her team was an incredibly rewarding experience," says Farah Socran, President United Pet Supplements. "Her commitment to the success of the project was unwavering. We are so proud of the results and hope to be able to work together in the future."
The collaboration resulted in a comprehensive literature review, peer-reviewed scientific report, and plans for the optimal preparation for Baie Run's purposes. It was possible thanks to funding from the National Research Council (NRC) – Industrial Research Assistance Program and Nova Scotia Business Inc. Productivity and Innovation Voucher Program.
Thanks to this collaboration's success, Baie Run's new formula for pet products has been implemented, and the company's commercialized silver colloidal pet products are now commercially available online.