Genetically encoded lipid–polypeptide hybrid biomaterials that exhibit temperature-triggered hierarchical self-assembly

摘要

Post-translational modification of proteins is a strategy widely used in biological systems. It expands the diversity of the proteome, and allows for the tailoring of both function and localization of proteins within cells as well as the material properties of structural proteins and matrices. Despite their ubiquity in biology, with a few exceptions, the potential of post-translational modifications in biomaterials synthesis has remained largely untapped. As a proof-of-concept to demonstrate the feasibility of creating a genetically encoded biohybrid material through post-translational modification, herein we report the generation of a family of three stimulus-responsive hybrid materials — fatty-acid-modified elastin-like polypeptides — using a one-pot recombinant expression and post-translational lipidation methodology. These hybrid biomaterials contain an amphiphilic domain, comprised of a β-sheet-forming peptide that is post-translationally functionalized with a C14 alkyl chain, fused to a thermally responsive elastin-like polypeptide. They exhibit temperature-triggered, hierarchical self-assembly across multiple length scales with varied structure and material properties that can be controlled at the sequence level.