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FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF JULY 27, 2013 FBO #4263
DOCUMENT

A -- Sources Sought - Attachment

Notice Date

7/25/2013
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

541712 — Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veterans Affairs;Network Contracting Activity 8;Commerce Building;300 E. University Ave. Ste. 180;Gainesville FL 32601-3460
 

ZIP Code

32601-3460
 

Solicitation Number

VA24813I2288
 

Response Due

8/4/2013
 

Archive Date

9/3/2013
 

Point of Contact

BRIAN SHEA
 

E-Mail Address

SHEA@VA.GOV<br
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

I. Introduction and Purpose: This is a 'Notice for Sources Sought' for commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10-Market Research, supplemented with additional information. This is not a solicitation and request for proposals, proposal abstracts, and quotations. This is not an invitation for bids. This Government Issuing Agency and Contracting Office, on behalf of the Government Requiring Agency, seeks to obtain information regarding the interest and capability of any qualified business source to successfully meet the Government's requirements described in this notice. II. Business Interest and Capability: The purpose of this 'Sources Sought Notice' is to allow any interested and capable business to identify itself and its capabilities. Thus, the Government is seeking capability statements from capable businesses including, but not limited to, the following types: 8(a), Veteran-Owned Small Business, Services-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Historically Underutilized Business Zone Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Women-Owned Small Business and Large Business. A business shall use its capability statement to demonstrate that: 1. The business possesses the capabilities to successfully meet the Government's requirements described in this notice. 2. The business is competitive in terms of quality, delivery, and market prices. Based on the business responses received, or not received, to this notice, the Government's requirements may be solicited as a 100% Full-and-Open Competition, a type of set-aside or otherwise. III. Background: The overall objective of this requirement is to acquire professional services to assist in the execution of the project titled "Bone Content and Metabolism of Sex Steroid Hormones". This requirement will build upon work conducted over the last two years. IV. Scope: The primary scope of this requirement will include: 1. Bone histomorphometric analysis. 2. GCMS analysis of bone steroid hormones. V. Work Requirements and Task Description: 1. Bone histomorphometric assessment Rat bones (tibia) are obtained at sacrifice by the laboratory of the VA Principal Investigator. Bones are stored frozen and delivered to the Contractor's Representatives. The Contractor's Representatives will analyze bones as follows. The Contractor's Representative will also teach the above techniques to members of the laboratory of the VA Principal Investigator. Technical details: Bones are placed in 10% phosphate-buffered formalin (pH 7.4) for 24 hours before transfer to 70% ethanol and dehydration in increasing concentrations of ethanol. Sample bones are then embedded undecalcified in modified methyl methacrylate and sectioned longitudinally at 4 and 8 i_tm thickness with Leica/Jung 2050 or 2165 microtomes. The 4-pm-thick sections are stained by the Von Kossa method with a tetrachrome counterstain. Structural and cellular variables are measured in these sections with the Osteometrics System (Atlanta, GA and the Piquant Elite Bone Morphometry System (R&M Biometrics, Nashville, TN). The sample area within the proximal tibial metaphysis begins 1 mm distal to the growth plate to exclude the primary spongiosa. The bone variables listed below will be measured or calculated. Cancellous Bone Volume (%) Trabecular Width (pm) Trabecular Separation (pm) Node to Free End Ratio Osteoid Surface (%) Osteoclast Surface (%) Osteoid Volume (%) Trabecular Number (#/mm) Node to Node Ratio Free End to Free End Ratio Osteoblast Surface In addition, the following fluorochrome-based data will be collected from unstained, 8 i_tm thick bone sections with the same quantitative systems described above. Rate of Longitudinal Bone Growth (mm/day) Mineralizing Surface (%) Mineral Apposition Rate (mm/day) Bone Formation Rate (tissue level, surface referent, mm3/mm2/day) Analysis will be performed on 84 rat bone specimens and 30 mouse bone specimens annually. 2. GCMS analysis of bone steroid hormones. Rat bones (femur), mouse bones (femur and tibia), and human bones (part of the fibula) are crushed and extracted by the laboratory of the VA Principal. Extracts are stored frozen and delivered to the Contractor's Representatives. The Contractor's Representatives analyze the hormone content of the extracts by gas chromatography, mass spectroscopy (GCMS) as follows. Technical details: To each extract, 300 pL of DMF and 200 pL of BSTFA with 1% TMCS are added, after which the solutions are vortexed, capped, and allowed to incubate for 20 min at 70 °C. The derivatized products are then taken to dryness under nitrogen, redissolved in 500 pL of acetonitrile, spiked with internal standard d12-pyrelene (from US-108) to a final concentration of 1 pg/mL, and analyzed via GCMS. As the additional solid phase extraction isolation steps (discussed previously) are determined, this method will change accordingly. Any samples that require deconjugation will be hydrolyzed prior to the first solvent evaporation that prepares the extracts for derivitization. From a single sample extract, estradiol, estrone, and estriol are assayed using an HP-6890 gas chromatograph (Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, CA) with split/splitless inlet operated in splitless mode at 260 °C. The sample is introduced in a 1-pL injection and separated across an HP-5MS column (30 m x 0.25 mm; 0.25-pm film thickness; J & W Scientific, Folsom, CA) under a temperature program that begins at 200 °C, is held for 2 min, then increases at 10 °C/ min to 300 °C with a 10-min hold. Estrogen detection is accomplished using an HP 5973 mass selective detector operated in electron impact mode with a source temperature of 230 °C and a quadrupole temperature of 150 °C. Identification of all analytes is conducted in full scan mode, where all ions are monitored. For improved sensitivity, selected ion monitoring is used for quantitation. The ions monitored for 1713-estradiol are m/z = 285 and 416, for estriol, m/z = 504 and 345, and for estrone, m/z = 342 and 257. For quantitation, a standard curve containing at least six points is prepared for each analyte (R2 = 0.995). Calibration standards are prepared in acetonitrile and fresh curves are analyzed with each set of samples. Analysis will be performed on 84 rat bone specimens, 30 mouse bone specimens and 12 human bone specimens annually and compared to the previous year's analysis. Some of the experiments take years to accomplish because they are performed in stages. For example, there may be eight experimental groups with 15 animals per group (120 animals). The maximum number of animals that the Pl's staff can treat at one time is thirty. Therefore the experiment is done in 4 stages, with 4 separate experiments that are combined in the end. Each experiment begins with animal surgery, drug period over an extended period, followed by analysis of samples, both by the PI and by the contractor. The experiment takes 3 months for the treatment of live animals (rats) and 3 months for analysis of samples for a total of six months. It will take two years to complete the entire experiment in all 4 stages. LOCATION OF CONTRACT PERFORMANCE Services are to be performed at the Department of Physiological Sciences, Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, 1601 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, Florida. Given the perishable nature of the samples and the requirement for the contractor to provide on-site instruction to VA personnel, proximity to Gainesville, FL is highly desirable. The business shall demonstrate detailed knowledge, skill and abilities regarding the work requirements as follows: 1. Personnel. The ideal contractor's representatives will each have minimum qualifications equivalent to a PhD degree in Anatomy. Extensive research experience in bone histomorphometry in rodent models and experience teaching bone histomorphometry process is required. The candidate must also possess good interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills. 2. Equipment. Contractor will be required to furnish all laboratory and other equipment required to perform this service as described above. VI. Period of Performance: Base Year: 8/30/2013 - 8/29/2014 Option Year 1: 8/30/2014 - 8/29/2015 VII. Government Provided Data: The Government shall provide data to the Contractor as necessary for performance of the requirements described above. It is not envisioned that Personally Identifiable Information (PII), human patient information or similar information will be shared with the contractor. All information provided by the government remains the property of the government and will be safeguarded from unauthorized disclosure. VIII. Response: Any interested and capable business shall submit its capabilities statement tailored to this 'Sources Sought Notice'. The capabilities statement shall clearly define the interested business' capabilities using an Adobe PDF or Microsoft Office document limited to 15 pages total. Any interested and capable business shall ensure that its response is accurate, complete, and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to assess the business' capabilities. The interested business' capabilities statement shall include the interested business' accurate and complete DUNS Number, Legal Business Name, "Doing Business as Name", Physical Address, Point of Contact Information, applicable North American Industry Classification System Code, Type of Business, and Business Size. Responses shall be submitted ONLY to brian.shea@va.gov by the closing date of this 'Sources Sought Notice'. IX. Legal Considerations: The Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of a response or to provide feedback to a response to this 'Sources Sought Notice". This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or order to a respondent to this notice or pay for the information provided by a respondent to this notice. A respondent whom provides classified, confidential, proprietary, or/and sensitive information, does so entirely at its own risk and without the Government being subject to liability. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by any respondent for any purpose the Government deems appropriate and lawful. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by any respondent for any later announcement, notice, solicitation or/and synopsis. Contracting Office Address: Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 8 300 E. University, Suite 180 Gainesville, FL 32601 Place of Performance: Gainesville, FL United States Primary Point of Contact.: Brian Shea, Contracting Specialist Brian.shea@va.gov Phone: 352.381.5719
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/VANFSGHS/DVANoFSoGHS/VA24813I2288/listing.html)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: VA248-13-I-2288 VA248-13-I-2288_1SRC.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=896735&FileName=VA248-13-I-2288-000.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=896735&FileName=VA248-13-I-2288-000.docx

 

Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
 

Place of Performance

Address: DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS;MALCOM RANDAL MEDICAL CENTER;1601 SW ARCHER RD;GAINESVILLE FL

Zip Code: 32608
 

Record

SN03127225-W 20130727/130725235525-ed3e096e55d84b56cc9d0912e653c120 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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