SOURCES SOUGHT
66 -- Automated centrifugation-based plate washer with dispenser system
- Notice Date
- 3/19/2018
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 333999
— All Other Miscellaneous General Purpose Machinery 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
- NIHDA201800118
- Archive Date
- 4/10/2018
- 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
- This is a Small Business Sources Sought (SBSS) notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. 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 notice is issued to help determine the availability and type of qualified Small Business companies technically capable of meeting this potential 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. The notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. The information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method including small business socio-economic set-aside possibilities and to determine the availability of qualified Small Business companies technically capable of meeting the Government's potential requirement. All Small Business companies with the capability and availability to perform the requirement under the applicable NAICS code are invited to submit a response to this notice. NORTH AMERICAN CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE The NAICS code applicable to this requirement is 333999 All Other Miscellaneous General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing with size standard 500 employees. BACKGROUND The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was officially established in fiscal year 2012 to transform the translational science process so that new treatments and cures for disease can be delivered to patients faster. NCATS, one of 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs) at NIH, strives to develop innovations to reduce, remove or bypass costly and time-consuming bottlenecks in the translational research pipeline in an effort to speed the delivery of new drugs, diagnostics and medical devices to patients. Through collaborations with industry, academia, patient advocacy and other nonprofit groups and in cooperation with other NIH ICs and government agencies, NCATS provides: Pre-clinical drug development expertise and access to resources; assistance generating data needed for regulatory approval; and a variety of mechanisms to streamline partnerships and collaborations. NCATS collaborates with investigators to study and develop compounds and molecules to further translational research. The Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) is located in the National Center for the Advancement of Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). TRND is a program designed to combat health challenges with the mission to encourage and speed the development of new treatments for diseases with high unmet medical needs. The NCATS RNAi program has a potential requirement for an automated, centrifugation-based plate washer with dispenser system fulfilling salient characteristics. This instrument will enable RNAi researchers to gently wash microplates using centrifugation, which will greatly increase the throughput of ELISA based assays, and other assays that require multiple wash steps. Centrifugation allows for a contact-free and complete removal of liquid from the well without disrupting adherent cells. Purpose and Objectives This Small Business 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 one (1) Automated centrifugation-based plate washer with dispenser system. The RNAi program's high-throughput screening projects require the washing of 384- and 1536-well microplates. Currently, RNAi only has aspirator-type washers to perform this function. Using an aspirator-type washer is a tedious procedure, and each wash step can introduce a degree of error into the assay, due to variable volumes removed from wells. Also, some cells do not tolerate the agitation of multiple dispense/aspiration steps, so cells can be lost from wells in cell-based assays. One of RNAi goals is to develop methods that advance the science of RNAi screening and informatics by addressing the high incidence of false-positives in RNAi-based target discovery. To this end, it is imperative we reduce errors to a minimal. The subject potential requirement will reduce noise in many phenotypic screens we are running as part of our research screenings. Project Requirements Specifically, the following features are deemed essential that this potential requirement shall achieve: Uses centrifugation instead of aspiration for non-contact and contamination-free removal of liquids from all plate formats, including 1536 well. Achieves near zero residual volume and eliminates problems associated with conventional, aspiration-based washers. Reduces assay background and variability, eliminates wash steps and needle clogging, while increasing throughput, reliability and saving consumable cost with tipless media-changes in cell-based screening and magnetic bead wash applications. Has Automated, centrifugation-based plate dryer and media changer. Provides Software licenses for graphical user interface (GUI) and firmware (FW) with updates for 12 months. Has gravity based liquid waste handling capability. Has dispenser option for 96, 384, and 1536 well plates from up to 7 liquid input channels. Contractors submitting a response to this Small Business Sources Sought notice shall possess the ability to achieve the salient government essential features of this potential requirement. Specifically, Offerors to this Small Business Sources Sought notice shall document evidence of being able to provide the subject supply that will allow for the essential features described herein to be accomplished. Delivery/Warranty Offerors should indicate an estimated delivery time in full after receipt of an order and any other training or warranty or software licenses applicable. Inspection and acceptance will be performed at NCATS located at 9800 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20852. 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; (d) quantity; (e) shipping, handling, and/or installation instructions, and/or any special delivery conditions after receipt of an order. Respondents that believe that they are manufacturers or authorized re-sellers of the equipment specified in this announcement 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 the purchase description; (d) quantity; (e) estimated price or cost; (f) shipping, handling, and/or installation charges; and delivery date after receipt of 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 ten (10) pages. The 10-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 NIHDA201800118 on all correspondence related to this Small Business 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).
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NIDA-01/NIHDA201800118/listing.html)
- Record
- SN04859194-W 20180321/180319231236-1431208a939d58fbdaeadfb8bd61f656 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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