Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE Solicitation Number: NIMH20003922 Title: Confocal microscope with resonant scanner. Classification Code: 66 -- Instruments & laboratory equipment NAICS Code: 333314 – Optical Instrument and Lens Manufacturing Description: This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement. 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: In the course of our research into the hormonal control of behaviors, we often require imaging both fixed and live tissue that is labeled with antibodies or expressing a fluorescent protein. Often the tissue is several millimeters in dimension and requires the stitching together of several fields-of-view to produce the final image of the entire tissue. For some tissues this process can take several hours to overnight. In order to collect images, the confocal microscope scans a laser across the sample and records the amount of fluorescence generated. The speed at which the laser scans is the limiting factor in the time required for image collection. The resonant scanner in the requested microscope can scan the tissue at 24,000 lines per second enabling an increase in collection speed, and combined with the 25mm (vs. 18mm) field of view, increase throughput roughly 100 fold compared to our current microscope. This increase in efficiency will allow more researchers to collect more data in the same time and greatly increase the rate of discovery of our lab. Purpose: The SONF requests this confocal microscope with resonant scanner in order to greatly speed up collection of sample images in order to increase throughput. Project requirements: The Contractor shall provide one (1) Confocal microscope with resonant scanner to the following specifications: The microscope shall: be equipped with a resonant scanner capable of imaging at minimum 1024x1024 pixels at speeds up to 720 frames per second; have a field of view of 25mm in order to process large (5-10mm) tissue samples; be able to excite fluorophors at 405nm, 488nm, 561nm, and 640nm; be equipped with at least one silicon-immersion objective; be of an inverted design; include motorized controls for X, Y, and Z planes; be able to automatically adjust focus to counteract drift in the sample; include a PC workstation and software to run the functions of the microscope. System must be set up and installed by the vendor with training provided as part of the purchase. Anticipated Period of Performance: Deliver 60 days after award Capability statement /information sought: Contractors that believe that they possess the ability to provide the required equipment, should submit documentation on their ability to meet each of the project requirements to the Contract Specialist. The Contractor should directly and specifically state in the, capabilities statement, which project requirements can be meet and/or supplied. The Contractor 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. The information submitted must be 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 two (2) page limit. The 2-page limit does not include the cover page or executive summary. 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 Thien Nguyen, Contract Specialist, at
[email protected]. and Valerie Whipple, Contracting Officer, at
[email protected] The response must be received on or before June 12, 2020 at 12 pm, Eastern Time. 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).