Aug. 26, 2025

Dry eye is a common disorder of the eye surface that occurs when eyes don’t produce enough tears or produce tears with abnormal composition. Seneca Applied Research collaborated with I-MED Pharma — a Montreal-based company that specializes in solutions for dry eye, also known as ocular surface disorder — to study one of their eye hygiene products, I-LID ‘N LASH HOCl Cleansing Spray. Dr. Mahmoud B. Rammal, Dr. Adel Al-Amodi and Dr. Karim Fahmy from the R&D team at I-MED Pharma led the collaborative project.

“For over 30 years, I-MED Pharma has been at the forefront of innovation in the field of dry eye. Scientific research remains the cornerstone of our mission, driving the development of advanced solutions that improve patients’ quality of life,” said Dr. Mahmoud Rammal, Senior R&D Manager at I-MED Pharma.

I-MED Pharma’s line of eye care products includes drops, wipes, and devices that provide first-in-class solutions for dry eye patients in Canada and around the world. Among these, the I-LID ‘N LASH HOCl Cleansing Spray is designed to clean and hydrate eyelids and eyelashes. Its active ingredient is hypochlorous acid (HOCl), which is an antimicrobial molecule that naturally occurs in the human body.

Professors Dr. Frank Merante and Paulina Sarzala from Seneca’s School of Biological Sciences and Applied Chemistry (BSAC), co-led the research effort to evaluate the perfomance of the product, with Sina Elahipanah, also of BSAC, contributing his expertise to assess its concentration and stability.

Instead of testing the product on pathogenic microbes that would have been quite dangerous to handle, the Seneca team proposed working with less-dangerous model organisms that are also easier to grow.

“Some of these mimetic bacterial, fungal and viral model systems we proposed and used are incredibly valuable to mirror what would happen with pathogenic organisms,” said Dr. Merante.

The project, published in the Biomedical Journal of Scientific and Technical Research, focused on methods to evaluate HOCl concentration and stability within the formulation. By using model systems, the researchers were able to generate valuable data under laboratory conditions and refine approaches to testing and analysis

Assisting with the experiments and analysis done at the Seneca Center for Innovation in Life Sciences (SCILS) were students Dean Pickett, Amina Abane Cherrez and Misako Kobayashi. Handpicked from BSAC’s three-year Biotechnology – Advanced diploma program, Mr. Pickett, Ms. Abane Cherrez and Ms. Kobayashi teamed up to assess the performance of the product.

“It was such a great experience to interact with students who truly wanted to learn and excel at what they were doing. Dean was a fantastic research student and put in a lot of really great work, doing a big chunk of the experiments. Misako and Amina were extremely careful, and methodical, quantifying the results in a very reliable way – they did an amazing job,” said Sarzala.

The research assistants were all in agreement about how their time in this project gave them the nurturing yet challenging environment to translate their lessons from the classroom into practical, career-ready, real-world skills.

In assessing the reasons behind I-MED Pharma’s decision to collaborate with Seneca Polytechnic, Dr. Al-Amodi acknowledged the complementary mix of chemical and microbiological research capabilities and facilities, along with the scientific caliber and dedication of the staff.

“Seneca’s state-of-the-art facilities and advanced equipment played a pivotal role in streamlining the project and ensuring that key deliverables were achieved efficiently and on schedule.,” he said.

“Looking ahead, we’re enthusiastic about continuing our collaboration with Seneca. Our priority has always been to validate  the performance of our products through credible, data-driven research—and Seneca has proven to be a reliable partner in delivering exactly that.” said Dr. Rammal.