Track every bead. Find every vial. Trade strains with peer labs — all from your phone. Free to start. Premium when your team's ready.
The only manager that knows there are 25 beads in every Microbank® vial. Single-bead retrievals logged automatically. Bead count remaining is always current.
Native iOS and Android (Flutter). Web app from the same code base. Camera-based QR / GS1 Datamatrix scan. Real-time sync across the team.
Peer-to-peer strain marketplace. List, search, chat, exchange. No other lab-inventory tool offers this — turn your inventory into supply.
Microbank Marketplace is a mobile-and-web app for managing lab cryostorage and exchanging microbial strains between labs. It models the way Microbank® porous-bead vials actually work — 25 individual bead retrievals per vial, with each pick logged automatically. Available as a native iOS app, a native Android app, and a web app. Free tier for solo scientists and small teams; Premium subscription via RevenueCat unlocks the peer-to-peer strain marketplace, multi-user company features, and advanced reporting. Built by Pro-Lab — the manufacturer of Microbank®.
Microbank-Native
Microbank® cryostorage vials hold 25 porous beads — designed for single-bead retrieval, with the remaining beads never re-frozen. Generic LIMS treat the vial as one inventory item. Marketplace treats it as 25 retrievable beads, because that's how the product actually works.
Features
Twelve capabilities, free or Premium.
Phone-camera scan of the GS1 Datamatrix on every Microbank vial. No proprietary hardware.
Lab → Freezer → Box → Vial. Visual box-layout map shows every position at a glance.
25 beads per vial. Each pick logged. Bead count always current.
Share-link to a colleague; they join in 30 seconds. Per-company tenant isolation.
List a vial, browse peer labs, exchange directly. Category-creating.
Built-in messaging for marketplace exchanges and MTA coordination.
Every action logged automatically. Export for inspection prep.
Flutter codebase ships native to both. Web from the same code.
Cloud Firestore — every device sees the same state instantly.
Firestore Security Rules enforce tenant isolation. Your inventory stays yours.
English, German, Spanish (more on request).
Free tier forever. Premium via RevenueCat — monthly or annual.
How it works
iOS, Android, or open in browser. Sign up with email. Free tier active immediately.
Add lab → freezer → boxes → vials. Bulk-import via CSV (Premium). Single-site labs are typically running the same afternoon; multi-site rollouts within 1–2 weeks.
Phone camera scans GS1 Datamatrix on Microbank vials. Two-tap bead retrieval. Lab-wide search.
Premium unlocks the marketplace. Post a strain, chat with peer labs, ship a vial. Skip the ATCC line item.
Marketplace
Researchers have exchanged strains informally for decades through MTAs (Material Transfer Agreements). Microbank Marketplace surfaces those exchanges. Your inventory becomes searchable supply; peer labs become discovery channels. The actual transfer follows whatever MTA your institutions require — we handle discovery and chat, your legal paperwork stays where it belongs.
How it compares
Every cell verified 2026-05-09 from public sources. We don't claim what we can't source.
| Microbank Marketplace | LabCollector S&C | CryoTrack | Excel + binder | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microbank-native bead tracking | check_circle | cancel | cancel | cancel |
| Native mobile (iOS + Android) | check_circle | cancel | cancel | cancel |
| Free tier | check_circle | cancel | cancel | (effectively) |
| B2B strain marketplace | check_circle | cancel | cancel | cancel |
| Multi-user real-time | check_circle | check_circle | check_circle | Breaks at >2 editors |
| Per-vial audit trail | check_circle | check_circle | Biobank-grade | cancel |
| 21 CFR Part 11 e-sig | Roadmap | Optional | check_circle | cancel |
| LIMS + ELN bundle | cancel | check_circle | cancel | cancel |
| Pricing | Free + RC monthly/annual | $50/u/mo + $2k impl | Quote | Free |
All competitor data verified 2026-05-09. We don't claim what we can't source. See full breakdowns: vs LabCollector, vs CryoTrack, vs Excel.
Pricing
Premium pricing via RevenueCat in your local currency. See in-app paywall for current rates. Cancel anytime.
For solo scientists and small teams getting started.
Monthly and annual via RevenueCat. Cancel anytime.
For multi-lab universities, biotech orgs, pharma research.
Premium pricing in your local currency via RevenueCat. Subscriptions managed via your App Store, Play Store, or web RevenueCat customer portal. Cancel anytime.
Compliance & security
Cloud Firestore Security Rules enforce per-company tenant isolation. Your lab's inventory, vials, and listings are isolated from other companies. Encrypted at rest and in transit by Firebase + GCP defaults.
Microbank Marketplace is a software companion to Microbank® — the porous-bead cryostorage product manufactured by Pro-Lab Diagnostics USA, an ISO 13485 manufacturer. The app itself is not separately ISO 13485 certified; the cryostorage product it pairs with is.
"21 CFR Part 11 compliant" — e-sig controls not implemented. "HIPAA certified" / "HIPAA compliant" — no such certification exists; we don't handle PHI in standard cryostorage workflows. "FDA approved" — not applicable. "Integrates with your LIS / Epic / Cerner" — not implemented. "Public REST API" — Premium / Enterprise roadmap.
Microbank® is independently validated by Manchester Metropolitan University: all 41 NCTC/NCPF reference strains viable from a single bead at 24 months stored at -20°C. ~25 individual bead retrievals per vial without freeze-thaw cycles.
FAQ
No. The cryostorage hierarchy and the marketplace work for any cryovial inventory. The bead-retrieval-tracking feature is Microbank-specific because Microbank® vials hold 25 beads designed for single-bead retrieval. The QR / GS1 scanner reads any standard 1D or 2D barcode.
The free tier covers core cryostorage management for a single user. Premium adds peer-to-peer marketplace listing, multi-user company features, bulk CSV import, and advanced reporting; pricing is set by RevenueCat at monthly and annual rates that vary by region. See the in-app paywall for current rates.
The marketplace is new. Lab-to-lab strain exchange has happened informally for decades; we're instrumenting it. Early Premium customers seed the marketplace with their own listings. Pro-Lab is also seeding with internal isolate inventory. Be the second lab in.
Yes. Researchers have exchanged strains informally for decades through Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs). Marketplace surfaces existing exchanges; the actual transfer between labs follows whatever MTA your institutions require. Marketplace handles discovery and chat; legal paperwork stays with you.
Yes — Premium includes CSV bulk import. Map your spreadsheet columns to lab / freezer / box / vial fields and import. Most labs are running on Marketplace within an afternoon for single-site setups.
No, not today. Microbank Marketplace is a strain inventory + marketplace tool, not an LIS or LIMS connector. The Microbank physical product carries GS1 Datamatrix that some LIS systems can read directly; the Marketplace app reads the same code but does not push data to or pull data from any LIS today. Public REST API is on the roadmap.
Today, no. Microbank Marketplace has a complete audit trail but does not implement Part 11 electronic signatures (re-authentication on approval). For research/academic/biotech labs that don't require Part 11, the audit trail is sufficient. For regulated GxP workflows, Part 11 e-sig is on the Premium / Enterprise roadmap.
Real-time Cloud Firestore sync means every device sees inventory state as soon as it changes. If a freezer fails, you can identify exactly which vials were inside, which beads were already used, and what remains. Bulk reorganization (moving boxes between freezers) is a few taps; everyone on the team sees the new state.
Get Microbank Marketplace free on iOS, Android, or web. Set up your lab in an afternoon. Invite your team. List your first strain. We'll be at the bench when you are.