Inactive

Description This Sources Sought Notice is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National... Description This Sources Sought Notice is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Behavior Development (NICHD). The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to identify qualified large and 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 NICHD 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 NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. This requirement is assigned North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 334516 with a size standard of 1,000 employees is being considered. NICHD may issue a request for quotation (RFQ) because of this Sources Sought Notice. THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against NICHD shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought Notice or the NICHD’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 CryoEM promises high resolution 3D protein structure solution (sub 3 Angstrom) without the need of crystallization. In recent 5-6 years the field has witnessed a boom with its application to protein structure determination. There is currently no screening scope for NICHD and NICE researchers that has a highly efficient autoloader and direct detector camera. The NICHD and NICE cryoEM facilities currently possesses two old Tecnai scopes (T20, NICHD and T12, NICE) for cryo specimen screening purposes that serves about 20 research groups from 8 ICs. In addition, the age of the scope and associated camera has led to significantly more down time. This severely hampered the research activities of the associated institutions. It is clear that CryoEM core need more microscopes with higher performance and efficiency. Glacios is an established Cryo-Transmission Electron Microscope (Cryo TEM) that meets this demand. The Glacios Cryo TEM is equipped with an Autoloader that allows for 12 cryo specimen grids to be loaded to the microscope at once which is a big boost over other scopes which allows only one specimen loading at a time. This greatly improves the screening efficiency. In addition, instead of refill of liquid nitrogen every 4-8 hours, Glacios essentially allows for 24/7 continuous unattended data collection with automated liquid nitrogen filling. Further, specimen screened by Glacios are freely transferrable to Arctica or Krios for higher resolution or energy filtered data collection. Also, Glacios is equipped with Constant Power Objective lens that allows for better thermal specimen drift and optical performance. Finally, Glacios and other Cryo TEM has a reputation with faster service response. 3.0 TYPE OF ORDER This is a Firm-Fixed-Price Purchase Order. 4.0 PRODUCT FEATURES/SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS The instrument shall: A 200 kV electron microscope in a sound/vibration proof enclosure. High-brightness x-FEG field emission gun at 200 kV as the electron emission source. Cryo autoloader with dedicated high vacuum system for automated and contamination-free cryo loading up to 12 Titan Krios style autogrids. Autogrid assembly and loading stations and tools are included with the microscope. Integrated cryo box fixed to the objective lens to provide constant thermo stability with minimum thermo vibration. Computer-controlled temperature management allows scheduled liquid nitrogen autofill and cryo cycle for the microscope and the autoloader. Electronic motor-controlled condenser, objective, and SA apertures. Symmetric “Constant-Power� C-TWIN objective lens, delivers high resolution at high tilting angle for cryo specimen. The objective lens unit has focal length of 3.5mm, Cs and Cc = 2.7 mm. Optics electronics that enable rotation-free imaging, and allow for fast switching of modes, magnifications, conditions and techniques, all with minimized stabilization time. This is crucial for full automation of Single Particle Analysis and high-resolution Tomography. Computerized single axis specimen stage with ±70° alpha tilt. High-frame rate, digital search-and-view camera (FluCam) at 40 fps with high dynamic range. Robust and oil-free turbo vacuum and ion getter pump (IGP) system. Pneumatically driven beam stop for diffraction work. The microscope is fully aligned and tuned in the factory before delivery. The TEM server and the control system will have the most current TEM software. Automated data collection software (EPU) license is included in the price. Automated tomography data collection license is included in the price. TEM scripting software allows customized automation and control by expert users for new method development experiments. A support network computer is included to provide supplementary network connection and resource for the main microscope computer. Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) and water chiller are included and compatible with the microscope. Retractable Ceta 16 mega pixel camera for fast image screening and recording. Falcon4 direct electron detector is the main camera for high-resolution data collection. It utilizes high frame rate at 150 fps allowing high electron sensitivity for electron counting imaging mode with drift correction. RAPID remote control assistance software is included for remote service, performance monitoring, and troubleshooting. Accelerated SPA TEM [HP([1] offers remote support on data collection experiment, alignment, workflow validation, routine system health status monitor, quarterly review, and ten (10) days on-site application support. 4.1 DELIVERY / INSTALLATION Delivery shall be determined between the vendor and the NICE Technical Director and will be coordinated with renovation completion of the microscope space in building 33, estimated to be summer of 2021. All shipping/handling (including FOB) and delivery/installation fees, parts and labor, shall be included. Upon delivery, the Contractor shall notify the NCI Technical Point of Contact (TPOC), TBD at award, to schedule the installation date and time. Installation shall be completed within 30 business days after delivery. Onsite installation shall be provided during standard business hours (defined as 8:00 am – 5:00 pm EST, Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Holidays). Installation shall be performed by an OEM-trained and certified engineer/representative. During installation, the Contractor shall assemble the microscope, including high tension tank, field emission gun, electronic components, optical lens control rack, TEM server, water chiller, uninterrupted power system, digital camera, and the control computers. After the microscope is fully assembled, the Contractor shall configure the computer, TEM server network, installing new software, and perform a full microscope and camera alignment and calibration. A satisfactory acceptance test (SAT) shall be performed to ensure the product is within specification before signing off. The full installation shall be completed within 20 business days. The Contractor shall deliver and install the equipment at the following address: Delivery and Installation Address: Building 33 Room TBD. Bethesda MD, 20892 4.2 TRAINING Within 20 business days after acceptance, the Contractor shall provide full training to the senior staff/facility manager on proper operation and routine maintenance.  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 and components are free of defects in design, material, or manufacture for a period of at least one (1) calendar year from date of acceptance by the Government. The Contractor shall also warrant and imply that items delivered are merchantable and fit for use for the particular purpose described in this contract in accordance with FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items 5.0 RESPONSE DELIVERY POINT Capability statements shall be submitted via email to Contract Specialist, Patricia Haun, at haunp@mail.nih.gov no later than 12:00 P.M. EST on July 21, 2020. All information furnished must be in writing and must contain enough detail to allow NICHD to determine if it can meet the unique specifications described herein. Please reference number NICHD-20-174 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, an RFQ may be published. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation(s).