SOURCES SOUGHT
66 -- Request for Information: High-throughput Flow System for 96-well Transwell(R) Plate
- Notice Date
- 10/16/2018
- 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, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 4211, MSC 9559, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892-9559, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20892-9559
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-NIH-NCATS-RFI-2019-0001
- Archive Date
- 11/15/2018
- Point of Contact
- Hunter A Tjugum, Phone: 3018275304
- E-Mail Address
-
hunter.tjugum@nih.gov
(hunter.tjugum@nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Description: This is a Request for Information (RFI). This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. Background: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation's leading medical research agency and the primary Federal agency whose mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) is a translational science center whose mission is to catalyze the generation of innovative methods and technologies that will enhance the development, testing and implementation of diagnostics and therapeutics across a wide range of human diseases and conditions. The 3-D Tissue Bioprinting Group at NCATS is invested in developing therapeutically relevant three-dimensional tissues for basic research and drug screening. Experts at NCATS are applying the techniques of 3-D printing to develop tissue models that mimic the 3-D structure and organization of cells in the tissues of living organisms. To achieve therapeutic relevance, certain projects must incorporate mechanical cues to create a physiologically relevant cell environment. The incorporation of shear stress is important for vascular projects, as cell function is influenced by mechanical cues, and the Transwell® system is positioned to enable research on many such vascular environments, such as the blood-brain barrier. Purpose of Proposed Acquisition: The purpose of this proposed acquisition is to obtain a high-throughput flow system (HTFS) capable of exerting physiological shear stresses on human endothelial cell monolayers that are growing on standard Transwell® inserts in a 96-well plate and cultured with astrocytes on opposites sides of a membrane which mimic a blood-brain barrier. Purpose of this Request for Information: The purpose of this RFI is to acquire information on commercially available systems that can either: (1) satisfy the purpose of the proposed acquisition and meet the below described specifications; or (2) be modified to satisfy the purpose of the proposed acquisition and meet the below described project specifications. If interested parties do not offer a commercially available system or cannot modify an existing, commercially available system to satisfy the purpose of the proposed acquisition and meet the below described project specifications, those interested parties should still provide a response that describes how their proposed system would satisfy the purpose of the proposed acquisition and meet the below described project specifications. Requested Information: In response to this RFI, interested parties should provide information on their commercially available system; specifically, how that system can satisfy the purpose of the proposed acquisition and meet the below described project specifications. Interested parties should indicate whether the existing, commercially available system is of a type customarily used by: (1) the general public; or (2) non-governmental entities for purposes other than governmental purposes, and has been either sold, leased, or licensed to the general public, or offered for sale, lease, or license to the general public. If modifications to the existing, commercially available system are required to satisfy the purpose of the proposed acquisition and meet the below described project specifications, interested parties should also describe the extent of the modifications, including: (1) whether the modifications are of a type customarily available in the commercial market place; and/or (2) whether the modifications can be considered minor modifications of a type not customarily available in the commercial marketplace made to meet Federal Government requirements. Minor modifications mean modifications that do not significantly alter the nongovernmental function or essential physical characteristics of an item or component, or change the purpose of a process. Factors to be considered in determining whether a modification is minor include the value and size of the modification and the comparative value and size of the final product; as such, interested parties should also describe the value and size of the modification and the comparative value and size of the final product. Interested parties should also provide the following general information: (1)Description of organization, including information on staff expertise, availability, and experience; (2)Description of similar projects completed for both commercial and Government entities; (3)Suggested NAICS code and Product Service Code; (4)Preferred contract type (i.e. Fixed Price, Cost-Reimbursement, etc.-see FAR Part 16 for a complete list of contract types); (5)Manufacturing lead time; (6)Description of the warranty offered and any service agreements that are either included with the equipment acquisition or offered as a separate acquisition; (7)Published journal articles or manuscripts in the same or related scientific field; (8)Brochures and other product literature describing the commercially available item; and (9)DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g. 8(a), HUBZone, Small Business, etc.). Project Specifications: The Government is seeking to acquire a HTFS for a standard 96-well plate format that utilizes cone-and-plate shear to create adjustable shear stresses with hemodynamic waveforms in each well. The system is to be compatible with existing cell culture laboratory incubators, allowing for temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide control. The system is to contain up to 8 motors, so that shear stress can be controlled independently in groupings of 12 wells within a single plate. The following project specification are deemed essential to this proposed acquisition. The system must: (1)Apply adjustable shear stresses and hemodynamic waveforms to endothelial cell monolayers growing on standard Transwell® inserts in a 96-well place; (2)Apply shear stress in a manner that does not decrease the viability of cells in the monolayer; (3)Be compatible with standard 96-well plate format; (4)Fit into a standard culture incubator, with electronics and hardware reliable for extended (1 week) operation without corrosion or other failure modes; (5)Control mechanical cues independently between group of 12 wells in a single plate; (6)Allow for easy access to tissue on both sides of membrane for media changes and imaging during culture period; (7)Maintain temperature stability in incubator of +/- 1°C; (8)Produce shear stress control of +/- 2dyn/cm2 estimated from modeling and geometric/motor waveform measurements and spot-checked in the system. Question/Answer Period: Interested parties are encouraged to submit questions concerning any areas of uncertainty, which, in your opinion, require clarification, correction, or additional information on the RFI. The closing date/time for accepting questions is October 23, 2018 at 4:00 pm Eastern. Your written questions should be submitted in writing via email to the contract specialist, Hunter Tjugum, at Hunter.Tjugum@nih.gov, with the subject line, "Questions: RFI No. HHS-NIH-NCATS-RFI-2019-0001." A set of all questions and answers will be furnished simultaneously thereafter as an amendment to this announcement. Response Format: One copy of the response is required and must be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format using 11-point or 12-point font, 8-1/2" x 11" paper size, with 1" top, bottom, left and right margins, and with single or double spacing. The information submitted must be in an outline format that addresses each of the elements of the project requirements and in the capability statement/information sought paragraphs stated herein. A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required. The response is limited to ten pages. The ten-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references. Response Submission and Due Date: All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist, Hunter Tjugum, at hunter.tjugum@nih.gov, prior to the close date specified in this announcement. Facsimile responses are NOT accepted. The response must be received on or before October 31, 2018 at 2:00 pm Eastern Time. Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in any 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. Information provided will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for the potential requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. 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. 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. Any solicitation resulting from the analysis of information obtained from this notice will be announced to the public in Federal Business Opportunities, at FBO.gov, in accordance with the FAR Part 5. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to any resulting 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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