Background: Compared to polymeric nanoparticles prepared using non-lipid surfactants, lecithin addition forms larger nanoparticles and exhibits higher drug loading and the stability of nanoparticles can be conferred by adding Vitamin E Polyethylene Glycol Succinate (TPGS) into the formulation.

Aim: The aim of this study is to prepare Gemcitabine (Gem) loaded lecithin/PLGA nanoparticles. Moreover, the effect of TPGS and sodium cholate (SK) on the preparation of lecithin/PLGA nanoparticles was compared.

Methods: It was found that while PC addition into PLGA_TPGS nanoparticles formed larger particles (251.3± 6.0 nm for Gem-PLGA_TPGS NPs and 516,9 ± 3.9 nm for Gem-PLGA-PC_TPGS NPs), the particle size of PLGA_SK nanoparticles was not affected by lecithin addition (p>0.05).

Results: In cytotoxicity studies, it was found that the SK-MES-1 cell inhibition rates of Gem-PLGA_TPGS NPs, Gem-PLGA-PC_TPGS NPs, Gem-PLGA_SK NPs, Gem-PLGA-PC_SK NPs were similar with free Gem (p>0.05). In cytotoxicity studies, it was found that the encapsulation into nanoparticles did not change the cytotoxicity of the drug. However, higher cellular uptake has been observed when the lecithin was used in the preparation of PLGA nanoparticles.

Conclusion: Compared with free Gem, the Gem-loaded nanoparticles enhanced the uptake of the drug by SK-MES-1 cells which can increase the effect of gemcitabine for non-small cell lung cancer therapy.