An interesting approach from synthetic biology is the production of complex synthetic organisms that perform useful functions . The use of artificial molecules to mimic or to interfere with cellular properties and behaviours has helped to understand the working mechanisms of a cell . In particular, styrene-maleic acid copolymers (SMACs) have shown remarkable capabilities to effectively solubilize biological membranes into nanodiscs, allowing for simpler protein isolation directly from their native environment without the use of detergents . Therefore, they have become an interesting tool for the study and characterization of membrane proteins with already promising results .