The present invention relates to methods and compositions for lipid matrix-assisted chemical ligation and synthesis of membrane polypeptides that are incorporated in a lipid matrix. The invention is exemplified in production of a prefolded membrane polypeptide embedded within a lipid matrix via stepwise chemoselective chemical ligation of unprotected peptide segments, where at least one peptide segment is embedded in a lipid matrix. Any chemoselective reaction chemistry amenable for ligation of unprotected peptide segments can be employed. Suitable lipid matrices include liposomes, micelles, cell membrane patches and optically isotropic cubic lipidic phase matrices. Prefolded synthetic and semi-synthetic membrane polypeptides synthesized according to the methods and compositions of the invention also permit site-specific incorporation of one or more detectable moieties, such as a chromophore, which can be conveniently introduced during synthesis. The methods and compositions of the invention have multiple uses. For example, they can be used to assay ligand binding to membrane polypeptides and domains comprising a receptor, and thus are extremely useful for structure/function studies, drug screening/selection/design, and diagnostics and the like, including high-throughput applications. The methods and compositions of the invention are particularly suited for FRET analyses of previously inaccessible membrane polypeptides.