SOURCES SOUGHT
66 -- Large volume light sheet ultra microscope
- Notice Date
- 6/3/2016
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 334516
— Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Station Support/Simplified Acquisitions, 31 Center Drive, Room 1B59, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20892
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-NIH-NIDA-SSSA-SS-2016-394
- Archive Date
- 7/5/2016
- Point of Contact
- Hunter A. Tjugum, Phone: 301 435 8780
- E-Mail Address
-
hunter.tjugum@nih.gov
(hunter.tjugum@nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- INTRODUCTION This is a "Sources Sought" notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement. This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. The information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a small business social-economic set-aside, competitive or non-competitive method is possible, and to determine the availability of all qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government's requirement. NORTH AMERICAN CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE The NAICS code applicable to this requirement is 334516 Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing with size standard 500 employees. Background The Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience is contained within the National Institute on Aging (NIA), one of 27 Insitute Centers at the Naitonal Institutes of Health (NIH), and consists of the Neurocognitive Aging Section (NAS) on the Johns Hopkins Baview Medical Campus in Baltimore, MD. The NAS is driven by the mission to conduct research on normal and pathological aspects of age-related neurocognitive changes and personality. NAS recognizes that age-related cognitive decline threatens independent living, compromises the quality of life, and represents a key risk for the development of Alzheimer's disease. NAS research aims to understand the basis of cognitive aging across multiple levels of analysis, from the regulation of gene expression critical for memory-related synaptic plasticity, to the organization of large-scale cortical network dynamics linked to cognitive function. In addition to illuminating substrates of impairment, NAS research has begun to outline a neurobiological account of positive trajectories in aging, revealing neuroadaptive changes critical for maintaining normal memory in old age. Unified by a shared experimental approach of examining neurobiological outcomes and individual differences in cognitive aging in the same subjects, specific areas of ongoing investigation include: 1. the role of changes in nucleosome occupancy and positioning; 2. the contribution of experience-dependent epigenetic regulation; 3. immediate-early gene contributions to the network representation of recent experience; 4. quantitative morphometric studies of neurochemically-specific circuitry linked to cognitive aging; 5. the modulatory influence of ovarian steroids; 6. magnetic resonance imaging of brain structure and functional network dynamics. NAS research is conducted in preclinical animal models, with the long-term goal of testing strategies to promote optimally healthy cognitive aging, and to define the mechanistic basis of successful treatments. In this context, studies examining the effects of non-invasive brain stimulation on the cell biological, neural network, and cognitive outcome of aging will be an important focus of NAS efforts in the coming years. The use of non-invasive brain imaging and stimulation techniques will ultimately bridge efforts throughout the broader LBN, facilitating the direct translation of systems neuroscience research across animal models and humans. Purpose and Objectives This Sources Sought notice seeks to determine eligible sources capable of achieving the essential features of this potential requirement. The purpose of this potential requirement is to obtain a selective plane illumination microscope for 3-dimensional imaging. A light-sheet microscope allows imaging in large, intact volumes (e.g., whole rodent brain, embryos, etc.), with subcellular resolution and chemical/protein-specificity, while preserving unprecedented 3-dimensional anatomical fidelity. By this approach, a comprehensive, organ-wide anatomical organization of any labeled element can be mapped for precise quantitative analysis. Light-sheet microscopy is widely applicable and has been successfully implemented across a diverse array of tissue types, including brain, embryo, muscle, vasculature, etc. This type of technology allows investigators to image and precisely quantify, in any model, age-related change in the anatomical organization of inhibitory neuronal circuitry on a brain wide basis, specifically in relation to individual differences in the cognitive outcome of aging. Parallel studies could then be integrated with ongoing fMRI analysis and planned intervention studies. Selective plane illumination microscopes (i.e. Light Sheet microscopes) represent a new technology. A state-of-the-art microscope as described herein will help NIA-IRP investigators increase their understanding of the biology of aging and age-associated disease. Project Requirements The potential requirement includes obtaining one (1) microscope, assorted objectives, motorized tube lens, two cameras, motorized functional laser attenuator, imaging chamber, microscope stand and motorized filter wheels for excitation purposes. Contractors submitting a response to this Sources Sought notice shall possess the ability to achieve the salient government essential features of this potential requirement. Specifically, Offerors to this Sources Sought notice shall document evidence of being able to provide a large volume light sheet microscope in accordance with the following essential features: 1. Image large samples in centimeter range 2. Image in organic solvents 3. Have a working distance of the objectives up to 10mm, and 4. Have a field of view up to 17mm. Delivery Offerors should indicate an estimated delivery time in full after receipt of an order. Inspection and acceptance will be performed at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center at 251 Bayview Blvd in Baltimore, MD. Capability statements sought Interested parties are expected to review this notice to familiarize itself with the requirements of this project. Failure to do so will be at your firm's own risk. Respondents must provide, as part of their response: (a) product, catalog, model, and/or part number(s); (b) product description; (c) all relevant information and documentation that the item(s) offered meets the salient physical, functional, or performance characteristics as specified in this announcement; quantity; shipping, handling, and/or installation instructions; and/or any special delivery conditions after receipt of an order. The respondent must also provide their DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HubZone, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code and any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the acquisition requirements. The information submitted must be in outline format that addresses each of the elements of this requirement. A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required. The response is limited to fifteen (15) pages. The 15-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested. The response must include the respondents' technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. Respondents must reference announcement number HHS-NIH-NIDA-SSSA-SS-2016-394 on all correspondence related to this Sources Sought notice. The response must be submitted to Hunter Tjugum electronically, at hunter.tjugum@nih.gov, and be received prior to the closing date specified in this announcement. CONCLUDING STATEMENTS 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, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).
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