This is a Sources Sought notice for domestically manufactured products only. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. Per the Buy American Act and Executive Order 14005, the National Institutes of Allergy & Infectious Disease (NIAID) is seeking information for domestically manufactured products only, Per the requirements under the Buy American Act and requirements relating to Executive Order 14005 entitled: “Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers”, in the event that a nonavailability waiver request submitted through the Made in America Office (MIAO)’s Digital Waiver Portal is required." Respondents must certify in capabilities statement that products are manufactured in the United States.
The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all U.S manufactured products that are equal to the following product:
- Upgrades to two (2) current liquid handling system instruments to function more efficiently:
- expansion module (the + (plus)) onto an existing firefly, quantity 2
The Expansion includes a thermal cycler and shelf space for additional consumables
(tips, plates, lids). This module enables full-walk away workflows for automating
NGS library preps.
- On Deck Thermal Cycler (ODTC) 96XL, quantity 2
minimal space with a footprint on just two standard microplates (124 mm H x 157 mm W x 248 mm L)
- Well Plate Type
configured for either 96 well PCR plates
- Plate Height
in XL size for high profile 96-well plates
- Ventilation
4 different ventilation directions – downwards, rearwards, left & right
3. firefly®+ ATL Head Upgrade Kit, quantity 2
Specifications:
- The expansion can ONLY be added to an existing firefly liquid handling systems.
- The expansion involves changing out the head (multi-channel head) for the new ATL Head (Automated Tip Loading).
- The ATL head will remove the need for tools for loading tips, as the tips will be loaded directly from the initial tip boxes. This drastically cuts down on needed bench space for preparation, storage of these tools, and reduces the risk of contamination with less parts needing cleaning between runs.
- The tips will be different for the ATL head-they are individual tips racked in 384 or 96 format. This will enable future features like cherry picking capabilities.
- The Expansion will house a thermal cycler (ODTC XL) 96 or 384 format).
- The Expansion has shelves to house extra racks of tips, plates and lids (thermal cycler).
- The gripper will be altered to transfer plates/racks of tips in and out of the Expansion to the main firefly deck.
- These changes will ensure the firefly is maximizing bench-space efficiency, fully automating long NGS workflows in an extremely compact area.
Capability Statement/Information Sought
All capable vendors should respond with a brief capability statement demonstrating an equal product that is manufactured in the United States by April 29, 2024, by 11:00 AM EST.
Capabilities statement must also include the following information: 1) organization name, address, point of contact, email address, website address, telephone number, UE ID# with an active SAM.gov registration, and a tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of capability.
Submission Instructions
Interested businesses who consider themselves qualified to provide an equal product that is manufactured in the United States for the above-listed product are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice by April 29, 2024, by 11:00 AM EST. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be emailed to directly to, Rita Davis: rita.davis@nih.gov with the Sources Sought ID# SS-NIAID-24-2217725 in email the subject line.
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 pre-solicitation 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).
