Inactive

This Small Business Sources Sought Notice (SBSS) is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the National Cancer Insti... This Small Business Sources Sought Notice (SBSS) is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to identify qualified small business concerns including 8(a), HUBZone or Service-Disabled Veteran-owned business concerns that are interested in and capable of performing the work described herein. The NCI does not intend to award a contract based on responses received nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. 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 American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code should not submit a response to this notice. This requirement is assigned NAICS code 334516 with a size standard of 1,000 employees is being considered. NCI may issue a request for quotation (RFQ) as a result of this Sources Sought Notice. THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against NCI shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought Notice or the NCI’s use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement. 1.0 BRAND NAME OR EQUAL This requirement is for the procurement of the brand name or equivalent instrument described in section 4.0. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision FAR 52.211-6, Brand Name or Equal (AUG 1999) is applicable to this requirement. 2.0 BACKGROUND The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Nactional Cancer Institute (NCI), Center for Cancer Research (CCR), Laboratory of Genome Integrity (LGI), Flow Cytometry Core Facility in Building 37 (CCR LGI FC37) provides technical expertise and instrument support to flow cytometry applications in cancer research. The CCR LGI FC37 is the largest, fully open shared flow cytometry facility at NCI. Recent technological advances in high-dimensional spectral flow cytometry and the unmet need to allow advanced cancer research to take advantage of this technology at NCI necessitates the purchase of a state-of-the-art high dimensional spectral cell analyzer. The purpose of the proposed acquisition is to bring this advanced technology to NCI to allow cancer investigators, especially in the field of cancer immunology, to utilize it in their research. Importantly, the new analyzer will replace an older, much less capable Sony Biotechnology SA3800 spectal analyzer (S/N 2000020), and shall provide seamless continuity between the existing and new instruments such that data from existing assay formats, produced on current instrumentation, will be compatible to that from the new instrument. 3.0 TYPE OF ORDER This is a Firm-Fixed-Price Purchase Order. 4.0 PRODUCT FEATURES/SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS The following product features/characteristics are required for one (1) Sony Biotechnology ID7000 Spectral Cell Analyzer. The instrument shall be a benchtop high-end fluorescent spectral flow cytometer that meets the following minimum specifications. The instrument shall: Be capable of acquiring cells in flow up to 40,000 events per second rate and provide high throughput acquisition of 147 fluorescence parameters plus forward and 90o angle side light scatter. From this raw spectra data, calculate relative intensities of up to 60 fluorescent components. Be capable of calculating multiple autofluorescent properties from raw data. Be capable of illuminating cells with a minimum of 5 lasers of high power of excitation wavelength of 355nm (ultra-violet), 405nm (violet), 488nm (blue), 561nm (green) and 637nm (red) to allow for the possible most versatile excitation of existing and future fluorochromes and fluorescent reagents. Offer additional optional laser lines of deep ultraviolet (UV) (320nm) and infrared (800nm) range. Lasers must be spatially separated and operate with a time-delay mechanism that allows the complete separation of all the detectors associated with each of the five lasers. Be capable of detecting fluorescence emitting cells with up to 147 (upgradable to 188) diode array fluorescent channels with spectral decomposition spanning the range of 360 - 800nm to allow for the possible most versatile detection of existing and future fluorochromes and fluorescent reagents. Provide simultaneous detection of up to sixty (60) fluorescent parameters utilizing a spectral unmixing algorithm. Use automatic laser time delay calculation using the instrument set-up software. Have and integrated laser control mechanism to allow the selective turning on and off of individual lasers (except for primary blue 488nm laser). Utilize acquisition software compatible with a Sony SA3800 spectral flow cytometer, so that users can seamlessly transition from existing moderate instruments to the new system. Utilize dedicated detector channels for each laser with an average number of minimum twenty-five (25) channels/laser for each of the five lasers for maximum spectral resolution. Provide fully integrated automatic sampling mechanism utilizing a single platform for 24 fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) (5mL) tube or microtiter plates (96 or 384 well) with operations controlled by the cytometer software for high throughput sample (HTS) acquisition purposes. This sample acquisition mechanism must be integrated into the system such that users can seamlessly transition from tube to plate mode operations without any additional hardware change. To support large and/or variable sample volumes, the system shall utilize a fluidic system that provides continuous sample flow from open tubes and wells, not a more limited volume capacity syringe-based sample drive. To preserve sample integrity during prolonged data acquisition runs, the system shall provide thermo-electric sample cooling for 5 mL FACS tubes and multi-well plates. Provide real time spectral unmixing and real time population statistics during data acquisition to support definitive stopping conditions. Come with a computer workstation containing the following brand name or equivalent minimum specifications: Windows® 10 Pro 64 bit Operating System, Intel® Xeon® 6248 2.5 GHz 20 Core processor, 256 GB DDR4 memory, NVIDIA Quadro P2200 Graphics card, and 8TB x3 (RAID5:16TB) HDD storage space, equipped with 2 Ethernet ports, 4 display ports and DVD disc drive. 4.1 DELIVERY / INSTALLATION Delivery shall be within 90 calendar days of the Purchase Order award. The Contractor shall coordinate delivery and tracking information with the NCI Contracting Officer Representative (COR), TBD at award, and Technical Point of Contact (TPOC), TBD at award, with tracking information to anticipate delivery to the best extent possible. All shipping/handling (including FOB) and delivery/installation fees shall be included in the quote. Upon delivery, the Contractor shall notify the COR and TPOC to schedule the installation date and time which shall occur within 5 business days after delivery. Installation shall be performed by, or under the direct supervision of, an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) certified operator. The Contractor shall deliver and install the equipment at the following address: ATTN: TBD At award 37 Convent Drive Building 37, Room 6011, Bethesda MD, 20892 COR: TBD at award TPOC: TBD at award 4.2 TRAINING At the time of installation, the Contractor shall provide a familiarization and customer training for one (1) primary operator of the instrument. Within 14 business days after installation, the Contractor shall coordinate with the TPOC to provide additional training for at least five (5) users of the equipment. This training shall include at least two (2) full business days of consulting time by an experienced trainer at the customer site to help with assay development, implementation and data analysis using the instrument software. In the event that on-site training is not available due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Contractor shall provide remote training and reschedule the two (2) day on-site training for a later date. All training expenses, including materials and/or travel expenses shall be included in the quoted price. 4.3 WARRANTY The Contractor shall warrant that any instruments, equipment, components, or other supplies (“Supplies”) procured by this purchase are free of defects in design, material, or manufacture for a period of 24-months from date of installation. The Contractor shall warrant that all consumables or expendable parts are free of defects in design, material, or manufacture for a period of at least 90 calendar days from date of acceptance by the Government. Supplies which are repaired or replaced shall be warranted for the remainder of the initial warranty period or for 90-days – whichever is greater. At least one on-site preventative maintenance visit during the warranty period shall be included at no additional cost to the Government. Phone support, remote diagnostics and troubleshooting, and field service shall be included with the warranty and shall have a 48-hour on-site turnaround time by a designated OEM service engineer. Experimental planning, data analysis and interpretation assistance shall be included by remote access to the manufacturer’s experts for up to one year after purchase. 5.0 RESPONSE DELIVERY POINT Capability statements shall be submitted via email to Contract Specialist, Adam Hernandez, at adam.hernandez@nih.gov no later than 1:00 P.M. ET on Tuesday, March 16, 2021 (03/16/2021). All information furnished must be in writing and must contain enough detail to allow the NCI to determine if it can meet the unique specifications described herein. Please reference number 75N91021Q00040 on all correspondence. 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 capability. 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 RFQ may be published. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation(s).