Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Intramural Research Program (IRP) Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch (BNRB) is seeking Capability Statements from Small Business organizations under t... The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Intramural Research Program (IRP) Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch (BNRB) is seeking Capability Statements from Small Business organizations under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 334516, that are manufacturers of a brand name or equal BD Biosciences Rhapsody Express System to be used to take single cells/nuclei from our current FACS Melody sorter and mix each cell/nuclei with a unique barcoded bead to prepare cDNA libraries for sequencing. This instrument is necessary to provide identification of mRNA from each specific cell/nuclei following multiplexed sequencing to assess molecular and cellular alterations that were altered by drug experience. This is a Sources Sought 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 business sources; (2) the availability of capable 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. The established NAICS code is 334516, Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing. The U.S. Small Business Administration establishes a size standard for 334516 as 1,000 employees or less. BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND OBJECTIVE: The NIDA IRP Mission is to conduct state-of-the-art basic, preclinical and clinical research on mechanisms that underlie substance use disorders, addiction and relapse. Ultimately we hope to translate these efforts into new methods for the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders highlighting the following: enhancing our research by taking advantage of our unique and outstanding strengths; increasing translational research and fortifying our clinical portfolio; strengthening our basic science with investment in technology; increasing Diversity and Inclusion at all levels; and prioritizing Trans-NIH initiatives and growing strong ties with other institutes. CSI is trying to procure a focused ultrasound system. Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive and reversible technique that can be used for targeted drug delivery to the brain. Obtaining a focused ultrasound for the laboratory would allow for more in-depth investigation to rodent studies that involve a drug intervention. The Rhapsody Express System will be used to determine neural mechanisms in the brain that mediate different animal behavioral models used in drug addiction research. More specifically, this system takes single cells/nuclei from our current FACS Melody sorter and mixes each cell/nuclei with a unique barcoded bead to prepare cDNA libraries for sequencing. This allows identification of mRNA from each specific cell/nuclei following multiplexed sequencing to assess molecular and cellular alterations that were altered by drug experience. This system maximizes the amount of information that we can obtain from precious brain samples from research animals that required months of prior surgery and extensive behavior training. The multiplexing aspect saves thousands of dollars in sequencing costs per experiment. There is no other tool at NIDA IRP that can perform this process of barcoding thousands of single cells and nuclei for single cell RNASeq. The Rhapsody Express system will allow the BNRB to answer critical questions about how drug experience alters the brain to produce the different behavioral components of addiction, such as drug craving, dependence, and learned associations between cues and drugs of abuse, that were not previously possible to answer. REQUIREMENT: One brand name or equal BD Biosciences Rhapsody Express System with the following equivalent component parts: Rhapsody HT Xpress Package (Part No. 666625) BD Rhapsody Scanner (Part No. 633701) BD Rhapsody WTA Reagent Kit 4 pack (Part No. 665915) Shall include a site survey, installation, in-person onsite training and an extended warranty. Salient Characteristics: The following features/characteristics are required for this requirement: The system must operate without microfluidics to ensure easy use and minimal maintenance. Systems without microfluidics have a lower failure rate due to avoiding clogs and other fluidics conditions. The system must include a visual QC scanner. The system must be compatible with sorted population output from the BD FACS Melody instrument. The system must be specifically designed to accept sorted cell and nuclei populations from the BD Melody instrument. The system must partition single cells/nuclei into microwells for barcoding to preserve the integrity of delicate brain samples and prevent failure rate that is common with microfluidic methods. The system must use a gentle microwell-based partitioning technology that does not use a microfluidic channel. The system must have visual quality control workflow to ensure that high quality cells and nuclei are successfully captured and inform next-generation sequencing costs. This includes a readout of cell and nuclei capture and barcoding rate. The system must contain a scanner that is capable of analyzing 220,000 microwells and the ability to determine the levels of viable cells and nuclei isolated as well as which nuclei are successfully barcoded. This component and visual quality control workflow allows users to know immediately if an experiment is successful and make an informed decision about sequencing depth. The system must have an integrated sample multiplexing option and associated bioinformatics support. Sample multiplexing allows biologically distinct samples to be combined into one capture step. This provides multiple benefits, including a dramatic reduction in cost since fewer capture steps are needed to complete an experiment. The system must enable simultaneous measurement of both RNA and proteins. In addition to the multiplexing system, we need a system that can ‘barcode’ proteins of interest so BNRB may measure both RNA and protein from the same single cell or nuclei. The system must have a high capture rate at many levels of cell/nuclei input for capture. The system must allow for sample archiving. The system must provide the capability during the barcoding process for cDNA to covalently bound to magnetic beads that can be archived for months after the experiment. This is necessary so that the user can revive samples if any issues arise during library prep or sequencing. The system must provide optimized bioinformatic pipelines for sequence alignment and analysis. BNRB needs a system that does not require extensive coding and bioinformatics experience. Anticipated Delivery Date: This equipment shall be delivered 4 to 8 weeks after contractor receipt of Purchase Order. INSTRUCTIONS: Companies that believe they possess the capabilities to provide the required product should submit documentation of their ability to meet each of the requirements to the Contracting Officer. The capability statement must specifically address each of the requirements separately. Additionally, the capability statement should include 1) the total number of employees, 2) the professional qualifications of personnel as it relates to the requirements outlined, 3) any contractor GSA Schedule contracts and/or other government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs) by which all of the requirements may be met, if applicable, and 4) any other information considered relevant to this program. Capability statements must also include the Company Name, Unique Entity ID from SAM.gov, Physical Address, and Point of Contact Information. The response must include the respondents’ technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. Interested companies are required to identify their type of business, applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code, and size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number. The established NAICS code is 334516. Respondents must provide clear and convincing documentation of their capability of providing the products and support services specified in this notice. Also, information must be provided in sufficient details of the respondents’ (a) staff expertise, including their availability, experience, formal and other training; (b) capability to perform the work; (c) prior completed projects of similar nature; (d) compliance with requirements: Vendors must identify and demonstrate specifically how they will meet the requirements listed above. Any other specific and relevant information about this particular area of procurement that would improve our consideration and evaluation of the information presented is desirable. Documentation may include, but not be limited to, contracts both Government and commercial the organization performed, references, i.e., names, titles, telephone numbers and any other information serving to document the organizations capability, e.g., awards, commendations, etc. The information submitted must be in an outline format that addresses each of the elements of the requirement and in the capability statement paragraphs stated herein. A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required. Any business concerns that believe they possess the capability necessary to successfully undertake the work described above must SUBMIT CAPABILITY STATEMENTS ELECTRONICALLY to the Contract Specialist, Rob Bailey at Rob.Bailey@nih.gov, NO LATER THAN 1:00 p.m. EST on July 11, 2023. The Subject line for the submission should include this Sources Sought Number and organization name. NIDA will not accept paper or faxed capability statements. THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. This notice is for information and planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to any contractual agreement. 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 on SAM.gov. 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).