THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Sources Sought (SS) ONLY. The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USMRAA) on behalf of the US Army Center for Environmental Health Research (USACEHR). This RFI/SS is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a solicitation nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responses will be used for MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI/SS will be solely at the interested vendor's expense. Not responding to this RFI/SS does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if one is issued. This RFI/SS is to gauge interest in the upcoming requirement to perform high throughput embroyonic zebrafish assays with government furnished engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) and other benchmark chemicals for comparison. We are also seeking the ability to develop automated equipment and training for zebrafish embryo evaluation at USACEHR. Nanoparticle preparation and dilution. Performers should have demonstrated experience performing ENM exposures with zebrafish embryos. Utilization of methods to evaluate and maintain ENM dispersions during 120 hour exposure periods. Dosing concentrations and ranges will be determined in consultation with USACEHR. Chemical exposures. Chemical/nanoparticle exposures should be initiated at 6 hpf using dechorionated embryos placed 1 embryo per well in a 96-well plate. Systems that use an automated embryo system to maintain consistency and replication will be preferred. Two 96-well exposure plates per compound and 32 embryos per concentration should be evaluated. At 24 hpf, embryos should be assessed for 4 developmental toxicity. At 120 hpf, 18 developmental endpoints should be assessed. Zebrafish developmental behavior. At 24 hpf, embryos should be assessed for photomotor response using a photomotor response analysis tool (PRAT). At 120 hpf, locomotor activity should be measured in response to a sudden light-to-dark transition while in plate. The plate is placed into a Viewpoint ZebraBox (software version 3.0, Viewpoint Life Sciences, Lyon,France) and locomotor activity should be measured using the tracking setting during a 10 minute lighted period, followed by a 10 minute dark period, followed by a final 5 minute lighted period. Analysis and Reporting. Analytical methods for assessing the 24 hpf behavior, 120 hpf behavior, and morphology endpoints should be described and statistical significance levels should be defined to quantify appropriate dose related effect levels. A detailed report on the experiment metadata and a statistical analysis of each test chemical/ENMs level of hazard within the zebrafish embryo assay should be provided. All raw data should be provided in an appropriate electronic text file (csv) and/or database for each test performed. Zebrafish fixation for transcriptomic evaluation at USACEHR. At the termination of the 120 hour exposure all embryos will be preserved using appropriate preservation methods and shipped to USACEHR for follow-on transcriptomic and other omics-based assessment methods. With regard to the developmental piece of this requirement, responders should be familiar with the following: 1. Truong, L., S.L. Harper, and R.L. Tanguay, Evaluation of embryotoxicity using the zebrafish model. Methods Mol Biol, 2011. 691: p. 271-9. 2. Truong, L., D. M. Reif, L. St Mary, M. C. Geier, H. D. Truong, R. L. Tanguay. 2014. Multidimensional in vivo hazard assessment using Zebrafish. Tox. Sci. 137(1), 212-233. 3. Mandrell, D., et al., Automated zebrafish chorion removal and single embryo placement: optimizing throughput of zebrafish developmental toxicity screens. J Lab Autom, 2012. 17(1): p. 66-74. The Government requests the development of capabilities for high throughput screening of zebrafish embryos as part of ongoing research. The development includes but, is not limited to validation, training of personnel, and delivery of a working system. The Government is seeking sources, capability statements, and industry feedback for this requirement for Zebrafish Nanomaterial Embryonic Evaluation in accordance with the requirements set forth above. When submitting a capability statement, please submit a capability statement that describes relevant past performance based upon the scope of the outlined requirement. Additionally, please do not regurgitate the requirements; rather contractors shall outline company specific capabilities that match the services outlined in the requirement in order for the Government to make a fair capabilities determination. In addition, the Government requests you respond to the specific questions listed below in order to satisfy this RFI/SS. In addition, any industry feedback regarding the requirement is welcome. Please list any feedback accordingly (marked as vendor feedback) following your capability statement and responses to the listed Government questions. This notice is not a request for competitive quotes; no solicitation document is available and telephone requests will not be accepted. However, sources may submit descriptive literature, fully documenting their capability to perform zebrafish nanomaterial embryonic evaluation, which will be considered by the Agency. A determination to compete this procurement based on response(s) to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government It is anticipated that the resultant award will be a single award Firm Fixed Price IDIQ Contract with a base year and four 12 month option periods. This is a request for information (RFI) only and does not guarantee that a solicitation will be issued for this requirement. The purpose of this Sources Sought is to conduct market research to determine if responsible sources exist and to assist in determining if this effort can be competed. Offerors responding to this RFI are doing so at their own costs and will not be reimbursed by the Government for preparation costs. Sources Sought Response: Interested business concerns that consider themselves qualified are invited to submit a capabilities statement and response to the questions listed within this RFI. 1. Are you able to quote for the services as detailed above? If so please provide literature, technical specifications, and product availability, if any. 2. Our preference is to award a five-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contract. Are you able to provide firm fixed pricing for future option years for services? Please provide the following with your submission: 1. Company name and address 2. DUNS Number 3. Socio-Economic Status (Small, SDVOSB, etc.) - Socio-economic status will be verified in SAM.gov. 4. Point of Contact (Name, Email and Phone Number) 5. Current published price list for the services. NO SOLICITATION EXISTS; THEREFORE, DO NOT REQUEST A COPY OF THE SOLICITATION. This sources sought is for information and planning purposes ONLY and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for any information solicited. No award will be made from this announcement. Mail and telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. All Capabilities Statements are to be submitted as an electronic response, in Microsoft Office format and/or Portable Document Format (PDF) to this Sources Sought Notice NLT 1400 hours on 24 April 2015. All responses submitted shall be unclassified. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice MUST be e-mailed to:
[email protected].