Wearing a face mask or a filtering facepiece respirator, especially in hot weather for more than one hour, causes discomfort. But, in a viral pandemic, a barrier to filter inhaled and exhaled air is necessary to protect against airborne pathogens. The sensations of heat abstraction, that is, coolness and cold, can be captured by the rational design of optimized molecules called TRPM8 receptor agonists. The topical application of these molecules alleviates the discomfort of wearing a face mask covering. Several entities were identified by synthesis and experiment as having the ideal properties for achieving this purpose. The preferred embodiments are certain 1-diisopropyl-phosphinoyl-alkanes described as DIPA-1-5, DIPA-1-6, DIPA-1-7, DIPA-1-8, and DIPA-1-9, collectively referred to herein as “DIPA compounds.” The applicant found that topical delivery of DIPA compounds to the facial skin, especially to the surface of the nares (nostrils), alleviates face mask discomfort. From these studies, it is hypothesized that it is the absence of cool air dynamics about the nostrils that causes face mask discomfort. The present discovery pertains to pharmaceutical compositions that relieve face mask discomfort.

A breathable biological face covering comprising a fabric material and an anti-pathogen substance on the fabric material. The anti-pathogen substance comprises a lactoferrin protein. The amount of lactoferrin protein on the fabric material may be in the range of 0.6-1.5 grams/m² of fabric material. Another embodiment is a lactoferrin composition comprising an aqueous fluid at pH<7.0 and lactoferrin protein mixed in the aqueous fluid at a concentration of 0.6-1.5 grams per liter. This lactoferrin composition may be administered into the respiratory tract. This composition could be useful against respiratory microbial pathogen, such as influenza virus or coronavirus.

The present invention falls within the area of polymeric materials applied to the sector of manufacturing materials for use in filters for filtration equipment such as ventilators and for protective masks. In particular, the invention relates to multilayer filters for ventilators and protective masks which can be biodegradable and which comprise filtration materials based on ultrafine fibers obtained by electrohydrodynamic and aerohydrodynamic processing and which exercise passive FFP1, FFP2, N95 and FFP3 protection and which can also be washable and have active antimicrobial properties.

The invention provides a filter fabric for providing anti pathogenic properties which has been coated with a composition comprising (a) 0.0001-99.9999% by weight of a compound of such as zinc pyrithione and (b) 0.0001-99.9999% by weight of an additional zinc salt selected from the group consisting of zinc acetate, zinc propionate, zinc oxalate, zinc benzoate, zinc gluconate, zinc ascorbate, zinc citrate, zinc lactate, zinc glycolate, zinc maleate, zinc fumarate, zinc polyacrylate and zinc polymaleate. The invention also provides a composition for imparting anti-viral properties to a breathable substrate material comprising two or more zinc salts selected from the group consisting of zinc acetate, zinc propionate, zinc oxalate, zinc benzoate, zinc gluconate, zinc ascorbate, zinc citrate, zinc lactate, zinc glycolate, zinc maleate, zinc fumarate, zinc EDTA, zinc glycinate, zinc polyacrylate, zinc polylactate, zinc polyglycolate and zinc polymaleate said zinc salts being present in effective amounts to impart anti-pathogenic properties.