Rational Development of Recombinant ELP Bolaamphiphiles for the Controlled Construction of Multifunctionalized Globular Protein Vesicles

Synthetic biology has enabled the development of new strategies for creating artificial cells that can sense and respond to external stimuli. This study introduces the bottom-up construction of globular protein vesicles (GPVs) that incorporate elastin-like peptide (ELP) bolaamphiphiles as transmembrane components. To enable this strategy, we devised a Golden Gate-based cloning strategy to streamline the design, expression, and purification of ELP bolaamphiphiles. Three ELP bolamphiphiles with varying structural complexity were developed, incorporating fluorescent proteins to facilitate visualization and characterization. The self-assembly of these bolaamphiphiles into GPVs was optimized by varying the molar ratios of recombinant building blocks. Structural characterization confirmed vesicle formation, dynamic light scattering analysis revealed size distributions dependent on modular complexity, and atomic force microscopy demonstrated that the vesicles exhibited MPa-range Young’s moduli, indicative of high mechanical robustness. Our findings demonstrate that multifunctional ELP bolaamphiphiles can be incorporated into GPVs, enabling modular vesicle engineering. This work provides a foundation for designing synthetic cells with customizable bi-functionalities and modularity, advancing compartmentalized systems.