Notice of Intent to Noncompetitively acquire an extrapolation chamber for measuring absorbed dose from alpha-emitting sources.

This notice is not a request for a quotation. A solicitation document will not be issued, and quotations will not be requested.

This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334516 – Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing, with a small business size standard of 1,000 employees.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a requirement for an extrapolation chamber that is specifically designed to measure the absorbed dose from alpha-emitting sources. A collaborative project has been initiated between the Radioactivity and Dosimetry Groups at NIST and the University of Wisconsin to characterize radionuclides (such as Ac-225) for application in targeted alpha therapy to treat various types of cancer. The Radioactivity Group will develop methods used to fabricate alpha-particle-emitting radioactive sources and measure the absolute activity of these sources. The Dosimetry Group will measure the absorbed dose due to the sources, which will complement the activity measurements, fully characterizing the source and providing valuable information relevant to clinical treatment planning. In order to perform absorbed dose measurements, a specialized instrument called an extrapolation ionization chamber is required. Extrapolation chambers used to measure beta-emitting sources are commercially available, but they cannot be used to measure alpha-emitting sources as required by this project. The University of Wisconsin has built an extrapolation chamber specifically designed to measure the absorbed dose from alpha-emitting sources. The Dosimetry Group plans to purchase an identical instrument that would be fabricated by the University of Wisconsin. Having such an instrument at NIST is essential to the success of the project, and it is not available from any other source. It is critical for the instrument at NIST to be a copy of the one at the University of Wisconsin in order to allow for transfer of the NIST measurements to the University of Wisconsin as a secondary standard and to enable measurement comparisons between the two institutions.

NIST conducted market research in March and April 2023 to determine what sources could meet NIST’s minimum requirements. It found that having an identical extrapolation chamber to the one built by the University of Wisconsin is essential to the success of the project, and it is not available from any other source. The results of market research revealed that only The University of Wisconsin (UEI: LCLSJAGTNZQ7) appears to be capable of meeting NIST’s requirements

However, any sources that believe they are capable of meeting NIST’s minimum requirements are encouraged to respond to this notice by the response date to provide the following information at a minimum: Company Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number in https://sam.gov; details about what your company is capable of providing that meets or exceeds NIST’s minimum requirements; whether your company is an authorized reseller of the product or service being cited and evidence of such authorization; and any other information that can help NIST determine whether this requirement may be competitively satisfied.

A determination by the Government not to compete the proposed acquisition based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Only responses received by the offers due date and time of this notice will be considered by the government. Responses shall be submitted via email to nina.lin@nist.gov.

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