Internship - Development of Bio-Inspired, Non-Acrylic Adhesives for Wearable Patches
Internship - Development of Bio-Inspired, Non-Acrylic Adhesives for Wearable Patches
About us
We are developing Wear & Forget® wearables for continuous sweat biochemistry monitoring, combining on-demand sweat extraction with aptamer-based biosensing. Based at the Lausanne Biopôle, we are a <20 FTE small, multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers driven by a shared passion for impact. We thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment where creativity, scientific excellence, and rapid iteration are at the core of everything we do.
The role
We are looking for an intern or Master’s thesis student to investigate and develop bio-inspired, non-acrylic adhesive interfaces for wearable sweat-sensing patches.
The goal is to create a skin-facing adhesive system that maintains reliable attachment during perspiration while preserving comfort, conformal contact, sealing and efficient sweat collection.
The project will explore different biological attachment principles, such as compliant contact, suction, wet friction, fluid drainage, hierarchical structuring and moisture-tolerant adhesion, without being limited to one specific organism or design.
Responsibilities
- Review bio-inspired wet-adhesion strategies and non-acrylic skin adhesives
- Define the key performance requirements
- Generate and compare structural, chemical and hybrid adhesive concepts
- Design and fabricate selected prototypes
- Develop adhesion tests under dry, humid and artificial-sweat conditions
- Evaluate sweat accumulation, leakage, removability and performance during movement
- Integrate the most promising concept into a representative wearable patch
- Analyse results and propose further development steps
About you
- You are studying materials science, biomedical engineering, microengineering, mechanical engineering, polymer science, applied physics or a related field.
- You enjoy hands-on experimental work and are interested in biomaterials, microfabrication, surface engineering or wearable medical devices.
- You are curious, methodical, independent and comfortable turning scientific concepts into practical prototypes.
What we offer
- A highly applied project with a clear path from literature to prototype
- A fast-moving, highly collaborative team where decisions happen quickly
- Access to EPFL's world-class CMi cleanroom and research ecosystem
- Opportunity to develop into a long-term role within the company