Antimicrobial dyes for facemasks

An antimicrobial facemask comprising a singlet oxygen generating photosensitising dye, wherein the dye is cationic or anionic;

• wherein the photosensitising dye comprises a phthalocyanine of Formula 1:
• wherein:
• M is aluminium, titanium or zinc,
• R is R′ or R″;
• and
• at least one R is R″;
• wherein:
• R′ is selected from oxygen-linked phenyl or pyridyl,
• R″ is oxygen-linked N-alkylated pyridinium, and
• X− is Cl−, Br−, I−, methanesulphonate, ethanesulphonate, formate, acetate, derivatives thereof, or a mixture thereof;
• and
• wherein the alkylation on the pyridine nitrogen is an optionally branched C1-C8 alkyl group, the C1-C8 alkyl group is optionally hydroxylated or fluorinated;
• and there is a mean average of b occurrences of R″ with a corresponding mean average of b occurrences of X−, in which b=1 to 4.