USDA, APHIS, Field Servicing Office, Butler Square West, 5th Floor, 100 North 6th St., Minneapolis, MN 55403

68 -- LIQUID TRIMEDLURE SOL 62-M-APHIS-99 DUE 072399 POC Janette Lever, 612/370-2285 E-MAIL: click here to contact the contracting officer via, janette.lever2@usda.gov. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This solicitation is issued as a request for proposal (RFP). This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-11. This is a 100% small business-set aside. Reference Standard Industrial Classification Code 2899, for which the small business standard is 500 employees. The USDA, APHIS, International Services, has a requirement for 403 kilos of liquid trimedlure (TML), to be delivered in 7-kilo drums. SPECIFICATIONS The TML shall exhibit the following physical, chemical and biological characteristics and activity: 1. Be a mobile, light-colored liquid at room temperature that is noncorrosive, and which possesses a mild, pleasant, fruity odor characteristic of the compound; be dyed with Thermoplast Red 554 (BASF) or an equivalent non-polar, non-acid-based dye that shall be present at a concentration of 0.1 percent of the final TML/dye formulation. 2. Have a refractive index that is within the following range: nD25 = 1.4540 -- 1.4570. 3. Be not less than 95 percent of the tert-butyl ester of 4- [and]-chloro-2-methylcyclohexane-1-carboxylic acid as measured by gas chromatography, when determined by the analytical procedures specified under Identity by IR Spectroscopy, Purity of GC Analysis, and Isomer Composition by GC Analysis, of this solicitation/contract. 4. Contain not more than 0.5 percent free acid calculated using the sum of 4- [and] 5-chloro-2- methylcyclohexane-1-carboxylic acid and less than 2.0 percent of dehydrohalogenated TML (calculated using the sum of the tert-butyl ester of the 6-methylcyclohexane-1-carboxylic acids). 5. Contain less than 0.1 percent water as measured by the Karl Fischer test, and be free of a water layer that is distinguishable as a separate entity from the bulk chemical. 6. Have a composition, determined by the capillary column gas chromatography (GC) procedure specified below under Purity by GC Analysis, and Isomer Composition by GC Analysis, that includes the following components in the proportions listed: 38 -- 45 percent of the trans-C isomer; not more than 24 percent of the B2 isomer; not more than 10 percent of cis-trimedlure (i.e., the combined total percent of the four cis-isomers). B. Biological Characteristics and Activity traps baited with Johnson and Johnson cotton wicks (1.5 inches long, 3/8 inch diameter) containing 2 milliliters (ml) of liquid TML, shall, after 1 and 6 weeks of aging in the field, have a Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) capture rate that is at least 50 percent of the number caught in traps using cotton wicks freshly baited with 2.0 ml of a standard liquid TML (i.e., a control of known quality). C. Stability liquid TML shall exhibit satisfactory shelflife by remaining in compliance with the specifications for at least one year, if stored continuously at 15 -- 25 C. Identity by IR Spectroscopy. A solution shall be made by dissolving 10-12 milligrams (mg) of sample in 1.0 ml of IR grade carbon disulfide. After mixing, the solution shall be placed in a 0.5 millimeter (mm) path-length cell and scanned from 4,000 -- 650 centimeters with a similar cell filled with carbon disulfide in the reference beam. The spectrum of the sample shall be qualitatively the same as the spectrum of the TML standard. The relative intensities of the peaks shall be the same as those of the reference spectrum and have no extraneous absorbencies. Purity by GC Analysis: A solution shall be prepared by dissolving a weighed quantity of sample in hexane to give a known concentration of approximately 1.0 microgram per microliter ( g/ l). A 2 l aliquot of this solution shall be injected onto a wide-bore [0.75 mm inside diameter (i.d.) x 30 m long] SPB-1, non-polar, capillary columnprogrammed at 100 C for two minutes and then 10 C/minute increments to a maximum of 250 C where it shall be maintained for 6 minutes. Under these conditions, TML elutes as a pair of unresolved peaks at approximately 5.9 and 6.0 minutes. The dehydrochlorinated precursor elutes at approximately 3.6 minutes. The purity of the sample shall be computed by first summing the areas of all of the peaks (other than those attributable to background) that appear in the chromatogram beyond the solvent front (usually beyond 2.5 minutes). The percent TML shall then be obtained by dividing the sum of the areas of the pair of TML peaks by the total area of all sample peaks and multiplying by 100. The amount of dehydrochlorinated TML shall be obtained by dividing the area of its peak by the total area of sample peaks and multiplying by 100. Isomer Composition by GC Analysis: The isomer composition of TML shall be measured by capillary-column, gas chromatography on a 60-m long x 0.25 mm i.d. fused-silica column coated with Durawax DX4, Carbowax 20M, or other equivalently polar stationary phase (helium or hydrogen carrier gas at roughly 1 ml/minute; injection port and detector temperatures of 225 C and 275 C, respectively); 2 l of the solution prepared according to the above cited Purity by GC Analysis shall be injected onto the column set at 100 C for 1 minute, then programmed at 1-5 C/minute. The composition shall be determined by first summing the area of the peaks of all eight isomers. The amount of cis-trimedlure shall be obtained by multiplying the total area of the four cis-isomer peaks by the percent purity cited above and dividing by the total area of all eight isomer peaks. If the second cis-isomer peak at 20.52 minutes is unresolved from the trans-B2 area at 20.21 minutes, the cis-isomer peak at 22.88 minutes shall be taken also as the area of the unresolved cis-isomer peak; the B2 area shall be corrected accordingly. The B2 and C isomer contents shall be determined by multiplying the area of the B2 (or C) peak by the percent purity and dividing by the total area of all eight isomer peaks. FIRST ARTICLE APPROVAL -- GOVERNMENT TESTING: (a) The Contractor shall deliver 0.5 kilos of TML within 45 calendar days from the date of contract to USDA APHIS, IS, 54 East Fronton Street, Brownsville, TX, 78520, for first article tests. The shipping documentation shall contain the contract number and the Lot/Item identification. (b) Within 60 calendar days after the Government receives the first article, the Contracting Officer shall notify the Contractor, in writing, of the conditional approval, approval, or disapproval of the first article. SPECIAL PACKING AND MARKING: All characters shall have a minimum height of 3/8 inch. Each carton shall have the following information displayed on two outside walls, in addition to other required markings: 1. Contents: Trimedlure; 2. USDA, APHIS, IS 3. Up; 4. Do Not Crush; 5. Store in a dry place; 6. Quantity___; 7. Contract Number; 8. Date of Manufacture; 9. Manufacturer's Name; 10. Manufacturer's Lot Number; 11. Storage Instructions. SPECIAL MARKING: Each package/container of TML shall be clearly marked with the contract number and lot number. Each package shall be marked with the contract and batch numbers. Reference Website: http//www.arnet.gov/far/fac.html for Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items, complete, sign, and return with the offer. The Provisions FAR 52.212-1, FAR 52.212-2, FAR 52.212-3, FAR 52.212-4 and 52.212-5 apply to this acquisition. A copy of the Quality Assurance Protocol will be made available, upon written request, either by fax or e-mail, addressed to Janette Lever at Fax 612/370-2285 or janette.lever2@usda.gov. Offers will be considered for award only from offerors who have furnished acceptable TML to the Government within the past five years. Offers must be received at the above address no later than 2:30 P.M., Central Time, on July 23, 1999. Questions or requests for clarification may be addressed to Janette Lever at 612/370-2285. Posted 06/25/99 (W-SN347506). (0176)

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