National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, 45 Center Drive, MSC 6500, Natcher Building, Room 5AS13A, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-6500

K -- UPGRADE OF PHILIPS CM20-FEG ELECTRON MICROSCOPE DUE 073195 POC Lynn Wheeler or Eileen Webster-Cissel, 301/594-2543. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with Philips Electronic Instruments Company, Mahwah, New Jersey, for the upgrade of an existing Philips CM20-FEG electron microscope which is currently housed in the NIAMS Laboratory of Structural Biology Research (LSBR). It is proposed that the existing electron microscope, currently equipped with a manual stage, be retrofitted with a computer controlled five-axis goniometer specimen stage including all controls and operational software. This computer-controlled specimen stage will allow the operator to tilt and manipulate specimens in the microscope and thus view them from different angles. This will enhance the microscope's ability to record tilt-series of electron micrographs of the same specimen, and thus reconstruct their 3- dimensional structures. The NIAMS LSBR performs experiments which involve materials that are very radiation-sensitive and thus will benefit from design changes the upgrade offers. In particular, changes in the specimen holder/stage contacts to enhance thermal and mechanical stability will allow for more efficient collection of electron micrograph data, thus maximizing the yield of information for a given total electron dose. Other enhancements to the electron microscope include five-axis motorization, digital read-out of all five axes, and increased safety of the specimen holder. Philips Electronic Instruments Company, as the original manufacturer of the CM20-FEG electron microscope, is the only firm possessing the design data and detailed knowledge to upgrade the existing equipment. The statutory authority applicable to the action is 41 U.S.C.253(c)(1) as set forth in FAR 6.302-1, unique capabilities. This is not an announcement of the availability of a Request for Proposals. See Numbered Note 22. (0165)

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