Frequently Asked Questions

Bento Lab is the first portable all-in-one DNA workstation, suitable for applications from professional research to education.

Bento Lab combines a mini-centrifuge (8k ×g)*, a 32-well PCR thermocycler, a gel electrophoresis box, an electrophoresis power supply, and blue LED transillumination. Powered via a universal power adaptor, it can be used globally in a wide range of conventional or portable lab scenarios, using mains power, a portable power station, or portable generator.

Designed for mobility and convenience, Bento Lab is quick to set up, easy to pack away, and simple to transport. Weighing just 3.5 kg, it fits into a laptop bag and occupies roughly the same bench space as a large laptop.

*Rated maximum relative centrifugal force (RCF) for Bento Lab Pro — suitable for use with spin column DNA extraction and purification kits. Maximum RCF for Bento Lab Entry is 2.7k ×g — suitable for spinning down tubes and pelleting tissues.

Bento Lab is geared towards all uses of conventional PCR, from professional research, science education, and amateur research. 

Our customers use Bento Lab for everything from preparing samples for nanopore sequencing in the field, to running science outreach activities on the go, to DNA barcoding biodiversity.

Yes, Bento Lab ships directly worldwide from the UK.

To find out more, have a look at our Order FAQ.

Yes, Bento Lab works with standard reagents and consumables, from 0.2mL PCR tubes to 1.5mL microcentrifuge tubes.

With 32 wells, Bento Lab can accommodate four 8-tube strips for easier sample prep and PCR. Smaller PCR microplates (12–well, 24–well, or 32–well) should also be compatible.

The items that you will need to do PCR workflows will vary depending on your exact application. For standard PCR applications you will need micropipettes, appropriate pipette tips and tubes, PCR reagents, primers, agarose, distilled water, an electrophoresis buffer, a DNA stain, and gloves. You will also need a heat source for melting agarose, such as a microwave (recommended) or a camping stove or rice cooker.

Please consult our First Time Buyers’ Guide for more information on what you may need in addition to Bento Lab.

The Biotechnology 101 Starter Kit is our educational genetics kit. If you have a background in molecular biology then you will be familiar with most of what it covers, so just get started with Bento Lab and its manual.

For first-timers looking for an introduction to genetics, you can add a Biotechnology 101 Starter Kit to your Bento Lab, which provides everything you need to start learning about molecular biology and genetics hands-on. Beginners may find it useful to read through its introductory sections on core lab skills even if they do not buy the kit.

Our aim is to make PCR accessible to all with transparently and fairly priced products.

If you are on a tight budget, have a look at our refurbished or factory seconds Bento Lab offer.

Bento Lab is designed to match or exceed the performance of traditional thermocyclers, and has been validated against standard devices.

Temperature is controlled using industry-standard peltier modules for high accuracy and speed. The Bento Lab peltier modules are specifically designed for robustness in thermocycling applications. For accurate temperature measurements, Bento Lab uses platinum resistance thermometers — the gold standard in temperature accuracy and reliability.

From the start, Bento Lab has been rigorously tested by our team of molecular biologists, research partners and independent testing houses. Bento Lab’s performance has been independently verified by scientists at world-leading research universities, institutes and commercial labs internationally for a broad variety of applications.

Bento Lab Pro is our premium model aimed at researchers and advanced users. It features a thermocycler with a temperature range of 12–102 °C, an adjustable mini-centrifuge (max RCF of 8k ×g) that can accommodate 2 mL tubes and spin columns, and an adjustable voltage gel electrophoresis unit (30 V – 120 V). 

Bento Lab Entry is our budget model aimed at beginners. It features a temperature range of 21–99 °C, lacks touchdown PCR capability, has a fixed speed mini-centrifuge (RCF of 2.7k ×g) suitable for 1.5 mL tubes, and a fixed voltage gel electrophoresis unit (50 V).

The two models are otherwise the same.

You can find a feature-by-feature comparison, and advice on which model is best for you, on the Bento Lab product page.

Bento Lab comes with a universal power adapter. You can use the lab internationally, with any national power supply grid, with a travel plug adaptor or by exchanging the plug cable for a standard plug cable.

We offer several options of plug types: A (USA and others), G (UK and others), F (Europe), and I (Oceania). Standard travel plug adaptors can be used with other plug socket types. You can find your local standard plug type here: https://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plugs-and-sockets/.

Bento Lab can be powered by a battery or generator when off-grid. You will need a power source with:

• A compatible plug socket or adaptor plug (depending on the Bento Lab configuration)
• An output with AC mains plug (110V – 240V AC)
• A minimum power rating of 140W. 
• Sufficient power (Wh) to complete your desired workflows.

You can find out more in our blog post here.

Bento Lab does not contain an internal battery. It can be powered by an external battery as described above.

Multiple units of Bento Lab can be run simultaneously but they may be be limited in speed or voltage due to power supply limitations.

• If the thermocycler and electrophoresis/transillumination units are running simultaneously then the centrifuge will be limited to a fixed speed spin down mode.
• If the centrifuge is running first then only one additional unit (thermocycler or electrophoresis unit) will operate, and the other will be locked.
• The blue light transilluminator will operate even when other units are operating.

Bento Lab is designed for normal operation between 10 to 35°C with maximum relative humidity of 80%, and is safe for use at ambient temperatures up to 40°C.

Bento Lab should also work as designed in more humid environments, and when it’s running it should normally run at the same or hotter temperature than ambient temperatures. However, just like with other electrical equipment, it’s possible that condensation could become a problem if :

• Bento Lab is moved from cooler to hotter humid conditions
• The heat block is run cooler than ambient conditions in humid conditions for prolonged periods, e.g. during 12 °C holding steps

To minimise condensation formation, Bento Lab could be stored in a sealed case with silica gel packets to absorb moisture when not in use. Additionally, the heat block could be run empty after any cooling steps to remove any condensation that may have formed on or around the heat block.

Our users are integrating Bento Lab into workflows from environmental research, to microbiome studies, to pre-diagnostic sampling with Oxford Nanopore MinION sequencing.

You can check out some case studies of how Bento Lab has been used on our Stories page.

Yes! You can connect Bento Lab to your phone or tablet via bluetooth using the Bento Bio App.
This allows you to quickly send therocycler profiles to your Bento Lab, remotely monitor experiments, and install software updates.

DNA extraction, PCR, and agarose gel visualisation of up to 30 samples (plus a positive and negative control) can be achieved with a single heat-lysis DNA extraction, a single PCR program, and two double-lane agarose gels run consecutively using the Add-A-Lane comb (bought separately).

However, the number of samples that can be processed from sample to PCR to agarose gel visualisation in a single batch will depend on your exact workflow.

If your DNA extraction requires a centrifuge step using Bento Lab’s 6 × 2 mL tube mini-centrifuge (for example using spin-column DNA extraction kits, or DNA precipitation) then your throughput will be limited by the capacity of this unit.

If your gel electrophoresis visualisation requires a single 12–lane gel for better band resolution (for example for the differentiation of very similarly sized amplicon bands) then this will limit your capacity to eight samples per gel (plus a positive and negative control, and two DNA ladders) and may require additional gels to visualise all of your samples.

No, agarose gels produced and visualised with Bento Lab can be viewed under normal lighting conditions using Bento Lab’s gel imaging hood (included with each Bento Lab, and replacement or spare hoods can be bought from our store).

Gels are best visualised by photographing the gel using a smart phone or compact camera, and then examining the photograph image, because of the small diameter of the gel imaging hood orange filter. Photographing also produces a permanent record of the gel; allows closer examination of the gel by zooming into the image; and allows annotation of the gel for future reference.

Visualisation in a darker room can improve the visibility and contrast of very faint amplicon bands by preventing incidental light entering the dark box.

A darker room is recommended for good visualisation of gels when not using a gel imaging hood or a similar apparatus, using the orange gel tank lid as a filter.

During fieldwork, heat sources such as a camping gas stove or rice cooker can be used to melt agarose to allow the casting of agarose gels.

Alternatively, Bento Lab can be used to power E-gels as a non-standard application (at your own risk) using crocodile clips, and blue light compatible E-Gels can be visualised using Bento Lab’s blue light transilluminator.

Precast gels can also be used, either home-made or commercially bought. Precast gels should be 7 cm x 7 cm to allow them to fit into Bento Lab’s gel tank.

You can read more about how to use Bento Lab without a microwave here.

Avoid UV damage and visualise DNA safely with Bento Lab’s blue light transilluminator, using green fluorescent nucleic acid dyes designed for blue-light excitation.

Our favourite DNA stain is GelGreen® because of its sensitivity and safety features.

Bento Lab is also compatible with a wide range of dyes including GreenView, SYBR Green, and SYBR Safe.

Bento Lab could be used with bought precast gels, provided they are compatible with blue light transillumination and are small enough to be run in the Bento Lab electrophoresis tank (7 x 7 cm).

Unfortunately we are not currently aware of any suppliers for suitable sized gels, but larger gels could potentially be cut down to size. You could also consider precasting your own gels in advance of fieldwork.

It is possible to use Bento Lab with E-Gels, although this is a non-standard application and is done at your own risk. One of our users has adapted the E-Gel Precast Gel system to work with Bento Lab. We’ve also produced a blog post on possible approaches to using precast gels, E-Gels, and casting gels during fieldwork without using a microwave.

Our customers are using Bento Lab for fieldwork in many countries and improvised lab settings globally.

Bento Lab is designed for portability, but it should be handled with the same care as a well-built laptop. It is not waterproof or drop-proof. 

We recommend protecting Bento Lab during fieldwork with a travel case, or an appropriately padded box or bag, to prevent risk of damage.

For more information on Bento Lab’s durability and robustness in different settings, read here.

Bento Labs have been integrated into the teaching programs of a number of universities, such as Ulster University’s UGenie program, and the University of North Dakota’s Microbiology PCR course.

As with any laboratory equipment, students should be instructed in the use of Bento Lab’s different modules before they use them, and they may need to be supervised.

Before using Bento Lab for teaching, we recommend:

• Supervising students when they’re working, especially when they are working with the centrifuge and gel box for the first time.
• Having replacement electrodes and a spare gel tank available to avoid any disruption if an accident occurs.

For more information on Bento Lab’s durability and robustness in classroom settings, read here.

Bento Lab production began in 2019, and units from that first run are still in active use more than five years later. Since then, we’ve continued to improve the build quality, so you can expect today’s models to last even longer.

To help you keep your Bento Lab running as long as possible, we offer:

• Affordable spare parts and user-replaceable modules.
• A free one-year warranty (extendable to two or four years).
• Our Reasonable Repair Promise, ensuring that even outside warranty, repairs will always be supported at a fair cost.

For more information on Bento Lab’s durability, robustness, and longevity, read here.

If you have a question outside the scope of our manual, please feel free to contact us via our website, or schedule a 20 minute call with our technical team. We will help you diagnose the problem and find a solution.

If you have an urgent issue, please get in touch immediately with as much information on the problem as possible (photographs and videos are very helpful), and we will do our best to resolve it as quickly as possible.

In addition to your legal rights, we offer a free extended warranty for a year after purchase that covers costs internationally. You can also add an extended warranty of two or four years at the point of purchase. Find out more about our extended warranty here.

If you are not covered by an extended warranty, we also guarantee repairs at a reasonable cost. We want our products to have a long lifespan with you, and we will do our best to serve you.

We offer a Reasonable Repair Promise, ensuring that even outside warranty, repairs will always be supported at a fair cost. If you have any technical issues with Bento Lab outside of your warranty period, please get in touch immediately and we can discuss the costs of any repairs that may be needed.

You can buy some upgrade, spare, or replacement items directly from our store:

• Replacement/spare gel electrophoresis tanks
• Replacement/spare electrodes for the electrophoresis tank
• A centrifuge lock upgrade/repair kit
• Spare gel imaging hoods
• An upgrade rotor to allow use of 2 mL tubes, for older Bento Lab Pro models or Bento Lab Entry.
• Add-A-Lane gel combs to extend electrophoresis sample capacity.

If you need or would like any additional spares or accessories for Bento Lab to support your work, please get in touch.