SOLICITATION NOTICE
65 -- The Chameleon ULTRA II Refurbished Hands-Free Ultrafast Ti Sapphire Laser
- Notice Date
- 5/21/2015
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 334516
— Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Office of Acquisitions, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Room 1E128, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20852
- Solicitation Number
- N02RC52593-24
- Archive Date
- 6/11/2015
- Point of Contact
- Kimesha Leake, Phone: 2402765669, Terry Galloway, Phone: 240-276-5384
- E-Mail Address
-
kimesha.leake@nih.gov, gallowaytl@mail.nih.gov
(kimesha.leake@nih.gov, gallowaytl@mail.nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The National Cancer Institute (NCI), Center for Cancer Research (CCR), Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch plans to procure on a sole source a Chameleon ULTRA II refurbished, hands-free ultrafast Ti Sapphire laser with Coherent Laser Group, 5100 Patrick Henry Drive, Santa Clara, CA 95054-1112. The purpose of this acquisition is to purchase a Coherent Chameleon ultrafast near-infrared tunable laser system for flow cytometry. This laser will be integrated into the NCI's current BD LSR II system for pilot studies and eventual routine analysis by two-photon flow cytometry, an emerging and concurrent technology with two- and multi-photon confocal microscopy for a recently developed array of fluorescent proteins and other fluorescent probes. This acquisition will be processed in accordance with simplified acquisition procedures as stated in FAR Part 13.106-1(b)(1) and is exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6. The North American Industry Classification System code is 334516 and the business size standard is 500 employees. Only one award will be made as a result of this solicitation. This will be awarded as a firm fixed price type contract. It has been determined there are no opportunities to acquire green products or services for this procurement. The NCI Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch, Flow Cytometry Facility provides essential optical biology services to the Branch and to other investigators in the NCI and NIH. The core is committed to maintaining an up-to-date array of instrumentation for its investigators. Two-photon and multi-photon laser confocal microscopy are now widely utilized techniques in the biomedical sciences, and is starting to be applied to flow cytometry as well. This technology uses ultrafast near infrared laser technology to excite fluorescent probes by the two photon phenomenon, permitting extremely low backgrounds, minimal tissue damage and high levels of tissue penetration in live tissue sections. This technology has led to the development of a series of fluorescent proteins, termed long Stokes shift (LSS) proteins, specifically developed for two-photon microscopy and requiring an ultrafast NIR laser source for their excitation. In addition, the latest generation of fluorescent probes for immunolabeling, including the organic polymer based Brilliant dyes (such as the Brilliant Violet or BV dyes), show considerably higher levels of fluorescence and far lower autofluorescence background when excited with a NIR laser source. Even traditional fluorescent proteins and dyes such as GFP and fluorescein also demonstrate far lower levels of autofluorescence background when using NIR sources. Two photon dyes are seeing increasing use in cell biology, and there is a need to be able to simultaneously analyze these probes by flow cytometry as well. The two photon phenomenon has been demonstrated to work in flow cytometry, and has been demonstrated on-site by the NCI. An ultrafast tunable laser system (the Coherent Chameleon Ultra II) traditionally used for two photon microscopy has been adapted for flow cytometer use, and can be readily added to the government owned BD LSR II system to provide excitation of next-generation LSS fluorescent proteins, as well as providing conventional fluorochrome excitation with far lower autofluorescence backgrounds. Coherent, Inc. is the only known manufacturer of high power ultrafast (picosecond pulse duration) high-repetition rate (~80 MHz) lasers. A high repetition rate laser is essential for flow cytometry, where the dwell time of a cell in the laser beam is less than one microsecond. The laser will be covered by the manufacturer's warranty for 12 months following installation, including service engineer visits and parts. The Coherent Chameleon Ultra II is also the highest power laser in the Chameleon series, again required for flow cytometry given the short dwell time of cells in the laser beam. The emission energy of the laser is between 200 mW and 4 W per nanometer, the highest level available in the industry. The Coherent Chameleon Ultra II also has a wide tenability range, from 680 to 1080 nm, also required for the wide variety of fluorescent probes required for flow cytometry. The Coherent Chameleon Ultra II is the only known manufacturer that supplies all of the characteristics mentioned above. This notice is not a request for competitive quotation. However, if any interested party, especially small businesses, believes it can meet the above requirement, it may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation, which shall be considered by the agency. The statement of capabilities and any other information furnished must be in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow NCI to determine if the party can perform the requirement. Responses must be received in the contracting office by 10:00 AM EST, on May 27, 2015. All responses and questions must be in writing and faxed 240-276-5401 or emailed to Kimesha Leake, Contract Specialist OR via electronic mail at kimesha.leake@nih.gov. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed 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. No collect calls will be accepted. In order to receive an award, contractors must be registered and have valid certification in the System for Award Management (SAM) through sam.gov. Reference: N02RC52593-24 on all correspondence.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/RCB/N02RC52593-24/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Office of Acquisitions, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Room 1E626, Bethesda, MD 20892, UNITED STATES, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
- Zip Code: 20892
- Zip Code: 20892
- Record
- SN03740272-W 20150523/150522000438-35521bca7a794bc2dc3cd22a89b423b2 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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