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

A conjugate comprising:

• a fatty acid comprising myristic acid;
• a self-assembly domain that is a substrate of a lipid enzyme transferase and that adopts a secondary structure at about 25° C., a pH of about 7, and a salt concentration of about 150 mM, wherein the self-assembly domain comprises an amino acid sequence of (G[XZ]n) (SEQ ID NO:1) wherein X is A or L, Z is G, S, or Y, and n is an integer from 2 to 5;
• a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence of [GVGVP]n (SEQ ID NO:8), wherein n is an integer from 10 to 120;
• and
• a linker between the self-assembly domain and the polypeptide, wherein the linker comprises an amino acid sequence selected from (GGC), ([GGC]8) (SEQ ID NO:5), ([G4S]3) (SEQ ID NO:6), and [GGS]n(SEQ ID NO:7), wherein n is an integer from 1 to 10,
• wherein the fatty acid is N-terminal to the self-assembly domain, the polypeptide is C-terminal to the self-assembly domain, and the conjugate has a first phase transition at a transition temperature (Tt) and a second phase transition at a critical temperature (Tc), the Tc being higher than the Tt.