NIH-NINDS - 22-011130 - Notice of Intent

Submitted by patelsnv on
Post Date/ Solicitation Issue Date
Closing Response Date
Proposed Award Date
Project Title
Dual fluorescence cell counter
Contracting Office
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Contact Points

Primary Contract Specialist

Valerie
Gregorio
valerie.gregorio@nih.gov
NAICS Code Number
334516
Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing
Small Business Size Standard
1,000 employees
Delivery of Goods
BLDG 35 RM 2B211
Set-Aside Status
Not Set Aside
Competition Status
Brand Name Only
Vendor Name
Nexcelom Bioscience LLC
Address
360 Merrimack Street, Building 9
Lawrence, MA 01843
United States
Single-Sole Source Determination
There are several major vendors that can provide stereotaxic injection equipment. Based on the end user’s experience/preference and companies’ market reputation, we reach out for quotes from four major companies: 1) KOPF, 2) Stoelting, 3) RWD, and 4) WPI.

The lab manager and end-users set up several zoom meetings with the technicians from these vendors to discuss the details of the equipment. Although come with some different specifications, all four companies were able to provide the dual injection platform for both mice and rats. And with appropriate adaptors, all of them are good for both the brain and spinal cord. However, KOPF and Stoelting cannot produce an anesthesia system (isoflurane) by themselves. KOPF adopted the same anesthesia system from WPI, and Stoelting did not respond to our request.

After we get all 4 quotes from the above-mentioned vendors, the lab manager and end-users discussed the specifications of these products. We agreed that all equipment can meet our needs and there is no significant difference in function (except for Stoelting did not response for our request for the anesthesia system). So, we compared the quotes from KOPF, RWD, and WPI, and finally picked up RWD because of obviously better price.
Background/Description of Requirement

Our lab has routine cell cultures for different cell types for our research. It’s critical to get correct cell numbers because different cell density significantly affects cell growth and changes responses to stimulus. Currently, we are using a traditional manual count with a hemocytometer, which has a large variation in count result and largely depends on the user’s experience to tell the live/death cell by morphology.

The Acridine Orange/Propidium Iodide (AO/PI) dyes provide a highly sensitive and specific way to measure cell number and viability. The dual-fluorescence cell counter will detect live cells with AO staining (Green) and the dead cell will be recognized with PI staining (Red). This viability ratio is very important for our iPSCs to determine the quality of the culture which cannot be obtained by manual count. At the same time, the debris in the cell culture shows no fluorescence and thus is excluded from counting. Thus, we are urging to get an automated cell counter for future studies.

Interested parties may identify in writing their interest and capability in response to this requirement. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.

All responses must be received by closing date and must reference the announcement. Responses may be submitted electronically to the attention of the contract specialist. Fax responses will not be accepted.

All responsible sources may submit a bid, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency.