Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

Description: This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding:... Description: This is a Small Business 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 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 of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the 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. This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. Background: National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) chemists confirm the mass of compounds eluting in fractions collected during flash silica gel purification by manually taking aliquots from several fractions, entering these aliquots to separately located reverse phase Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LCMS) systems, and then waiting for LCMS results to determine what fractions contain compounds of their interest. NCATS has a requirement for a Normal Phase Flash Chromatography with automated Mass Spectrometry such as the Biotage Isolera Dalton 2000 (Brand-name) which will be a dedicated normal flash purification system that will not only collect fractions based on UV but also acquire the mass spectrum of compounds while they are being eluted into fractions. This will significantly cut down the manual step of acquiring the LCMS separately of fractions in order to verify the identity of the compounds. Moreover, the fractions collected in multiple test tubes in the Isolera test tube racks shall be compatible with a Biotage V-10 evaporator (with Gilson liquid handler) that already exists in the lab. This will allow the fractions to be consolidated and concentrated into vials using the V-10/Gilson automation: another significant step towards automation. Purpose and Objectives: The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) intends to acquire a Normal Phase Flash Chromatography with automated Mass Spectrometry in order minimize manual steps in the chemist’s workflow of fraction collection and mass verification for compound identification during purification by chromatography. Project requirements: For reference purposes, the normal phase flash purifications chromatography system with automated mass directed fraction collection that meets the need of this requirement is the Brand-Name Biotage Isolera Dalton 2000 described below: Part Number (PN) - QTD - Description: ISO-1SV - 1 - Isolera™ One, One Channel, Single Collection Bed, 200-400 nm Detector DALT-2000-APCI-115V - 1 - Biotage Dalton 2000 Mass Detector APCI 115 VAC incl roughing pump DALT-2000-NLINK - 1 - Biotage Dalton 2000 Nanolink DALT-2000-SW - 1 - Spektra License for Dalton 2000 UP-ASAP-SNL - 1 - Dalton 2000 ASAP kit, probe, capillary stand, APCI source port CAP-ASAP - 1 - Dalton 2000 Glass capillaries for ASAP IS-ESI-S01 - 1 - Electrospray Ionization (ESI) ion source 415895SP - 1 - Replacement ESI capillary kit for ALL CMS models (includes capillary, sleeve, and fitting) 415896SP - 1 - Replacement APCI capillary kit (includes capillary, sleeve, and fitting) for S and L CMS models 413320 - 1 - Solvent bottle caps with silicone and nitril septa, 38-430 414506 - 1 - Stylus Pen Kit for capacitive screens 415867 - 1 - ESI Calibration/tune standard mix SER-ISD2K-FYMP - 1 - First Year Maintenance Package - Isolera 1 plus Dalton The salient characteristics of the desired system are listed below: A high-pressure liquid chromatography system that can handle purification of organic compounds from reaction mixtures with masses ranging from a few mg to 100 g using silica gel columns of sizes 1g-500g. Automated fraction collection in racks that are compatible with Biotage V-10 evaporator for fraction consolidation. The fraction collections should have the ability to monitor specific UV wavelength and should have an ESI/APCI mass detector to enable collection fractions with a specific mass. Initial installation and familiarization of users on basic operation and maintenance of the system including one Preventive Maintenance visit within 12 months from award. Anticipated period of performance: To be delivered within sixty (60) days after receipt of the order (ARO). Capability statement /information sought. Respondents must provide clear and convincing documentation of their capability of providing the products (brand-name or equal) specified in this sources sought notice. Moreover, interested vendors must provide a capability statement for: the difficulty and/or feasibility of the potential requirement or proposed acquisition, possible solutions and approaches that may currently exist in the marketplace, and information regarding innovative ideas or concepts; and information regarding respondents’: (a) staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training; (b) current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work; (c) prior completed projects of similar nature; (d) corporate experience and management capability; and (e) examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information. The respondent must also provide their DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, GSA Schedule Contract, 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. Submission Instructions: One (1) copy of the response is required and must be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format using 11-point or 12-point font, 8-1/2” x 11” paper size, with 1” top, bottom, left and right margins, and with single or double spacing. The information submitted must be in and outline format that addresses each of the elements of the project requirement and in the capability statement /information sought paragraphs stated herein. 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. All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist. Facsimile responses are NOT accepted. The response must be submitted to Renato Gomes, Contract Specialist, at e-mail address renato.gomes@nih.gov “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 presolicitation 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).”