SOURCES SOUGHT
66 -- Acquisition of a Brand Name or Equal Single Cell Isolation DEPArray™ System with 1-year dedicated, on-site field application support
- Notice Date
- 5/15/2015
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 334516
— Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Bldg 1050, Frederick, Maryland, 21702, United States
- ZIP Code
- 21702
- Solicitation Number
- SBSS-N02RC52583-57
- Point of Contact
- Reyes Rodriguez, Phone: 240-276-5442, Seena Ninan, Phone: 240-276-5419
- E-Mail Address
-
reyes.rodriguez@nih.gov, ninans@mail.nih.gov
(reyes.rodriguez@nih.gov, ninans@mail.nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- This Small Business Sources Sought Notice (SBSS) is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to identify qualified small business concerns including 8(a), HUBZone or Service-Disabled Veteran-owned business concerns that are interested in and capable of performing the work described herein. The NCI does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses received nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. This requirement is assigned North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 334516 with a size standard of 500 employees is being considered. As a result of this Sources Sought Notice, the NCI may issue a Request for Quotation (RFQ) through FedBizOpps. THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against NCI shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought Notice or the NCI's use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement. The purpose of this acquisition is to a Brand Name or Equal Single Cell Isolation DEPArray TM System with 1-year dedicated, on-site field application support. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) plans to procure a rare, single cell isolation DEPArray TM System platform with 1-year dedicated, on-site field application support. The Contractor shall provide a fully automated platform capable of combining the use of image-based cell selection with dielectrophoresis-based movement for identification and sorting of individual cells at the single cell resolution, and recovery of single cells or pools of cells at 100% purity needed to accomplish detailed molecular analyses. The following salient characteristics are necessary and unique to this particular instrument: • Use software-controlled dielectrophoretic forces in a semiconductor microchip to very gently capture, transport, and recover multiple single cells or pools of target cells of interest. • The process of capture and manipulation of cells must be very gentle to enable good viability of recovered cells for in vitro culture or further molecular analysis. In particular, the system needs to be very gentle for preserving viability of primary cells. • Use dielectrophoretic forces to keep the cells in suspension so that they maintain their morphology. The disposable cartridge shall have at least 30,000 dielectrophoretic cages to enable single-cell trapping at multiple locations. • A software-controlled CMOS camera and 5-channel fluorescent microscope shall enable image-based selection to discriminate the co-localization of fluorescent signals within the cell/event, distinguishing them from spurious events, debris or cell clumps. • Target cell population(s) shall be identifiable on the basis of bright field examination and fluorescent markers (e.g. fluorescent conjugated antibodies, nuclear staining or fluorescent proteins) based on the images acquired during the chip scan (fluorescent channels and bright-field). • The system shall automatically measure and report multiple different fluorescence parameters linked to signal intensity (mean, max, integral) as well as morphological parameters (e.g. roundness, diameter). • Software shall enable coarse-grain cell selection from scatter plots or histograms of the measured parameters as well as fine-grain cell selection evaluating the corresponding images of each event detected. • Multiple (up to 35) recoveries (1 or more cells, up to more than 600 in total) of different cell types can be carried out from the same sample in a single run. • System shall be agnostic to type of cell (CTC, tumor cell, stromal, immune cell etc.) or whether cells are fixed or live. However, the process of capture and manipulation of cells must be very gentle to enable good viability of live cells for in vitro culture, or further molecular analysis. In particular, the system needs to be very gentle for preserving viability of primary cells. • System shall be able to process multiple sources of samples, including but not restricted to samples from FFPE tissue, Fine needle aspirates, blood, tumor, cell culture, etc. • System shall allow recovery of cells for molecular analysis or for cell culture. • Post processing stations and file backup accessories: • Must include all accessory analytical and post processing analysis workstations, as well as accessories for automatic data file back as well as a backup power supply. • All shipping and installation costs must be included. Additional expected functionalities of the instrument: • The platform shall be able to handle both fixed and live cells, independent of cell types and suitable for small cell load such as FFPE samples or fine needle aspirate (FNA) samples. • The platform shall also be capable of gently manipulating single cells through the use of dielectrophoretic forces in a semiconductor chip that is controlled by software. • The system shall allow heterogeneous cell populations to be loaded onto the device and the precise but gentle isolation of the desired individual cells. • The system shall have a design that minimizes the settling of the cells so that they can maintain their morphology. The target cell populations shall be identifiable using up to 8 fluorescent phenotypic markers for cell or cell population selection, plus brightfield. Dielectrophoretic field manipulation shall allow gentle cell motion and collection, while keeping the cells in suspension, of single cells, pools of phenotypically similar pools of cells, or multiple phenotypic populations, for further analysis or culture. • The platform shall combine image-based and fluorescent signal-based sorting of a heterogeneous cell population from diverse types of samples, including FFPE samples, and use software-controlled gentle, dielectrophoretic field capture and transport of the targeted cells for recovery as single cells or pools of cells. One (1) year premium technical and application support The individual shall perform the following duties: • Onsite support to the NCI researchers to plan to use and access the instrument, as well as telephone support as needed. The individual performance will be at Building 37, NCI Bethesda campus, expected working hours are no less than 20 hours a week. • Providing extensive consultation for experimental design including application development as needed. • Providing training sessions on the instrument for users as needed individually or in a group. • Scheduling access to the instrument, troubleshoot, and running samples for first time or infrequent users. • Host seminars for NCI researchers to disseminate information on the capabilities of the platform during office hours. The individual shall: • Demonstrate a strong academic background in the Life Sciences or related field. • Demonstrate a strong background in cell biology/molecular biology and cancer biology is preferred. • Demonstrate significant hands on experience with cell culture, flow cytometry, imaging instrument, immuno-assays, DNA/RNA expression analysis is required. • Demonstrate significant experience with the instrument, software, and with image and data analysis. • Have excellent verbal, communication and organizational skills. 52.211-6 Brand Name or Equal. (Aug 1999) (a) If an item in this solicitation is identified as "brand name or equal," the purchase description reflects the characteristics and level of quality that will satisfy the Government's needs. The salient physical, functional, or performance characteristics that "equal" products must meet are specified in the solicitation. (b) To be considered for award, offers of "equal" products, including "equal" products of the brand name manufacturer, must- (1) Meet the salient physical, functional, or performance characteristic specified in this solicitation; (2) Clearly identify the item by- (i) Brand name, if any; and (ii) Make or model number; (3) Include descriptive literature such as illustrations, drawings, or a clear reference to previously furnished descriptive data or information available to the Contracting Officer; and (4) Clearly describe any modifications the offeror plans to make in a product to make it conform to the solicitation requirements. Mark any descriptive material to clearly show the modifications. (c) The Contracting Officer will evaluate "equal" products on the basis of information furnished by the offeror or identified in the offer and reasonably available to the Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer is not responsible for locating or obtaining any information not identified in the offer. (d) Unless the offeror clearly indicates in its offer that the product being offered is an "equal" product, the offeror shall provide the brand name product referenced in the solicitation. (End of provision) How to Submit a Response: 1. Page Limitations: Interested qualified small business organizations should submit a tailored capability statement for this requirement not to exceed 10 single sided pages including all attachments, resumes, charts, etc. (single spaced, 12 point font minimum) that clearly details the ability to perform the requirements of the notice described above. All proprietary information should be marked as such. Responses should include a minimum of a two pages demonstrating experience over the past two years meeting the requirements of this notice. Statements should also include an indication of current certified small business status; this indication should be clearly marked on the first page of your capability statement (preferable placed under the eligible small business concern's name and address). Responses will be reviewed only by NIH personnel and will be held in a confidential manner. 2. Due Date: Capability statements are due no later than 11:00 am. EST on May 20, 2015. 3. Delivery Point: All information furnished must be in writing and must contain sufficient detail to allow the NCI to determine if it can meet the unique specifications described herein. Written responses can be emailed to Reyes Rodriguez Contract Specialist at reyes.rodriguez@nih.gov or mailed to the address located under Point of Contact. All questions must be in writing and can be faxed to (240) 276-5399 or emailed. A determination by the Government not to compete this requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. In order to receive an award, contractors must have valid registration and certification in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and the Online Representations and Certifications Applications (ORCA), through sam.gov. No collect calls will be accepted. Please reference number SBSS-N02RC52583-57 on all correspondence. Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, an RFQ may be published on FedBizOpps. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation(s).
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/FCRF/SBSS-N02RC52583-57/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: TBA, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
- Zip Code: 20892
- Zip Code: 20892
- Record
- SN03733542-W 20150517/150515235621-3c9130e34e75c11bff0f9f2db9f009c3 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |