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: The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) needs one (1) Opera Phenix Imager or brand equal for High Throughput Screening for its newly established Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) Laboratory to be used for direct assessment of numerous drugs against SARS-CoV2 in human lung derived cells. The high throughput microplate-based automated imaging system will monitor and record cellular-level biological activities or changes in intact, living cells. As part of the tissue development verification and testing processes, tissues will be analyzed using High Content Imaging. Tissues take weeks to develop. As tissues develop, they must be measured and monitored to track development and record any relevant data. To measure fluorescence and colorimetric data in tissues, the NCATS requires a High Content Imaging System. After tissue development, tissues will be screened for response to drugs. This High Content Imaging System will be essential to efficiently obtain data from our screens and provide results from our assays.

Project requirements: This is a COVID-19/Coronavirus related action. The High Content Screening System (HCSS) Imager must be brand-name or equal to the following:

Manufacturer:
Perkin Elmer

Descriptions/Part Numbers:

HH14001000, Opera Phenix Plus System
HH14001001, Opera Phenix Plus Base Unit
HH14000122, Opera Phenix LaserHP 375/425 488 561 640
HH14000303, Opera Phenix OpticalSet 4 Cameras w/ 640 Four sCMOS cameras
HH14000344, Opera Phenix 4cam All Filter Set
HH18000001, Liquid Handling Kit
HH14000502, Environmental Control Option
HH18000002, Liquid Handling Housing Kit PHX
HH14000793, Control PC with HDD tier 3
HH14001603, Opera Phenix Plus US Country Kit
HH14000421, OperaPHX/OPRTCLS Water Objective 20x
HH14000422, OperaPHX/OPRTCLS Water Objective 40x
HH14000423, OperaPHX/OPRTCLS Water Objective 63x
HH14000402, OperaPHX/OPRTCLS Air Objective 5x
HH14000403, OperaPHX/OPRTCLS Air Objective 10x
HH14000405, OperaPHX/OPRTCLS Air Objective 40x
HH14000407, OperaPHX/OPRTCLS Air Objective 20x hNA
HH20110151, Opera Phenix heavy duty lab cart
HH14000750, HCS Slide Holder (up to 4 Slides)
HH14000888, Opera Phenix Basic User Training
HH14910000, Opera Phenix Installation
HH20110174, Plate handler Flex 750 package
HH10002007, Workstation Extension Small
HH20110184, Twenty-one (21) position plate shelf tall
HH20110069, Automation Installation
REGDELHCS, Shipping and Handling Costs

Quantity:
Three (3) of Part No. HH20110184, and
One (1) each of all the other preceding listed part numbers.

Salient Characteristics

The brand equal HCSS must meet the following salient characteristics:

1. The HCSS must be a complete self-contained high content screening system with internal imaging optics and plate scanning hardware and software designed to automatically image and analyze multi-well plates up to 1536 wells.
2. The HCSS must include a Micro Lens Enhanced Dual Spinning Disk Confocal Unit with fifty (50) micron (um) pinhole diameter and at least 550um spacing between pinholes.
3. The HCSS must include two (2) Scientific Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (sCMOS) Cameras as Detectors with at least 4.4 million pixels each for simultaneous two (2) channel capture.
4. The HCSS must provide a confocal optical system which separate excitation of adjacent fluorescence channels in time and space to reduce spectral crosstalk during simultaneous multicolor confocal imaging.
5. Fluorescence excitation must be provided by solid state lasers with the following characteristics: 405 nanometers (nm) with at least 200 milliWatts (mW) power; 488 nm with at least 150 mW power; 561 nm with at least 100 mW power; 640 nm with at least 140mW power.
6. The HCSS must be field upgradable to a total of four (4) sCMOS Camera Detectors for 4 channel simultaneous image capture. The field upgrade must be possible with no system downtime while the upgrade is performed.
7. The HCSS must include at least an eight (8) position emission filter wheel for each detector to provide flexibility for using multiple fluorescent dyes or proteins.
8. The HCSS must include a six (6) position objective turret.
9. All objectives must be barcoded for automatic recognition and configuration.
10. The HCSS must include at least three (3) simultaneously mounted water immersion objectives.
11. The HCSS must include an integrated Water Pump Kit to provide continuous water feed. This shall enable the use of the water immersion objectives for scanning an entire multi-well plate.
12. The HCSS must include Digital Phase Contrast to provide visualization and segmentation of unstained cells. The HCSS must keep live cells functioning normally and eliminate the need for nuclear dyes which destroy cellular function.
13. The HCSS must allow simultaneous on-line acquisition, analysis and evaluation of images and data.
14. Data analysis must be possible at both the single cell and plate level to provide results from assays in the selected format.
15. The HCSS must include single cell tracking software. This is needed for cell lineage experiments.
16. The HCSS must provide advanced morphology features (“STAR method”) that allow quantification of various aspects of the form and structure of objects e.g. elongation, symmetry, and smoothness of the border and spatial distribution of intensity of texture features.
17. The HCSS must include texture analysis which uses pixel distribution to select objects for quantitation when neither simple intensity Thresholding nor STAR morphology will work.
18. The HCSS must include Machine Learning software for pattern recognition selection for analysis. The software must allow users to train the system to select and quantitate specific types of cells, etc. by simply drawing on the objects of interest.
19. The HCSS must include an environmental chamber to control temperature and carbon dioxide concentration. The environmental chamber must permit use of all optical techniques including transmitted light brightfield and Digital Phase Contrast.
20. The HCSS must come with basic user training for at least 5 different users and 16 total hours. The training can be provided for the users at the same time in a group setting.
21. Installation and delivery shall be performed by the contractor.

Anticipated period of performance: Award is anticipated around December 4, 2020, with delivery of the items made F.O.B. Destination within 4-6 weeks after receipt of order (ARO) to: NCATS, 9800 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850.

Other important considerations: This is a brand name or equal requirement.

Capability statement /information sought: Responses to this notice must include sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities of providing a brand equal product meeting all salient characteristics. The response shall include: the unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, delivery days after contract award, delivery terms, prompt payment discount terms, F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), product or catalog number(s); product description; equipment installation and training; and any other information or factors that may be considered in the award decision. Such factors may include: past performance; special features required for effective program performance; trade-in considerations; probable life of the item selected as compared with that of a comparable item; warranty considerations; maintenance availability; and environmental and energy efficiency considerations.

The respondent must also provide their DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, 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.

All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically to Contracting Officer Mark McNally, mark.mcnally@nih.gov. Responses must be received on or before 05:00 PM Eastern Time, November 16, 2020.

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).

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