Transtympanic delivery of VO nanowires with a tympanic-membrane penetrating peptide

Otitis media is a prevalent pediatric condition. Local delivery of antimicrobial agents to treat otitis media is hindered by the low permeability of the stratum corneum layer in the tympanic membrane. While nanozymes, often inorganic nanoparticles, have been developed to cure otitis media in an antibiotic-free manner in a chinchilla animal model, the tympanic membrane creates an impenetrable barrier that prevents the local and non-invasive delivery of nanozymes. Here, we use a newly developed vanadium pentoxide (V 2 O 5 ) nanowire as an example, which catalyzes the metabolic products of an otitis media pathogen ( Streptococcus pneumoniae ) into antiseptics, to explore the transtympanic delivery strategies for antimicrobial nanozymes. V 2 O 5 nanowires with smaller dimensions (