Drug-loaded nanoemulsion as positive control is an alternative to DMSO solutions for in vitro evaluation of curcumin delivery to MCF-7 cells

Our results showed a superior anticancer activity of curcumin-loaded lipid-core nanocapsules compared to curcumin-loaded nanoemulsion and curcumin dissolved in DMSO in long exposition time assay, wihch is not observed in short exposition time assays like MTT. When a poorly water-soluble drug is under investigation, the nanoemulsion prepared with the same compounds of the nanocapsules, except the polymer, could be a better control than DMSO-solution of drug.