FBO_4_Nikon_TI2_Microscope_System_SMA22.docx

DESCRIPTION: The National Institutes of Health – NICHD- Division of Developmental Biology intends to procure the services of a contractor to provide a “CSU-W1 SPINNING DISK W/TI2-E” Service Agreement.

The Division of Developmental Biology is a division comprised of 18 separate laboratories and two shared animal Core facilities that engage in a diverse and highly interactive research program for cellular, molecular, and developmental biology as part of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Division of Intramural Research (DIR). As the largest Division in the NICHD DIR, the DDB pursues the mission of the NICHD by conducting research in a wide variety of areas including developmental differentiation and patterning, chromatin dynamics and epigenetics, the immune system, DNA replication, gene regulation, and RNA metabolism. Division investigators perform research using a wide variety of model systems from bacteria to mice and employ a number of cutting edge cellular and molecular techniques to solve pressing questions in developmental biology and disease.

Microscopy is and continues to be a foundational technique in modern biological research. Significant advancements in technology over the last decade now allow us to perform a variety of techniques such as image cells in real time, study nucleic acid expression in vivo, perform micromanipulation with increasing accuracy, and generate 3D images of internal structures of live animals, to name a few. The use of microscopes to image, measure, and manipulate biological samples continues to be a pillar of many types of research fields that seek to answer a wide variety of questions in biology and health. As such, the importance of microscopy to the work of every lab in the Division cannot be overstated.

The Microbiology Lab is seeking to purchase a one-year preventative maintenance contract for the Division-owned Nikon Eclipse Ti2 Widefield microscope with Spinning Disk technology. This contract includes an annual preventative maintenance visit, software updates, unlimited consultation with Nikon technicians, pre-approved repair and service authorization, and parts, travel, and labor for all work done.

The Ti2 Inverted High Speed Widefield Microscope with Spinning Disk detection and NIS-Elements Software is a new technology brought to the market by Nikon within the last two years. While there are other stereoscopes on the market produced by other companies, none of them have the capabilities of the Ti2 system or the NIS-Elements software that comes with it. The Nikon Ti2 inverted microscope has up to a 25 mm field of view, the largest field of view commercially available, up to twice as wide as many competitors. This makes the system optimal for imaging large samples like live zebrafish and large mouse sections. The Yokogowa CSU W1 spinning disk unit attached to the Ti2 offers extremely fast optical sectioning, many times faster than a point scanning confocal, and it is able to image over 200um deep into the sample due to its wider pinhole array. With the Hamimatsu Flash 4V3 camera, this system is able to acquire images at 2K X 2K resolution in microseconds, which no other microscope platform can currently do. Due to its unique capabilities, this microscope is in constant use by several of our labs for their research. Therefore, it is in the government’s best interest to keep this system functioning in peak condition to support their work.

As the developer of this proprietary technology, Nikon Instruments is the sole manufacturer and provider of the Ti2 Microscope and all of its supporting programs, components, services and objectives. This is supported by the information publicly available on their website as well as by a Google search for the terms “ti2 inverted microscope maintenance contract” (see: https://www.google.com/search?q=ti2+inverted+microscope+maintenance+contract&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-ab) which only returned Nikon as a contract vendor.

This is a SOLE SOURCE order for a Service Contract for a Nikon Spinning Disk/ Microscope with NIKON Instruments. In the event that this microscope or one of its components fails, NIKON Instruments will provide parts, service and labor required to repair the system, together with advanced replacement of parts to keep downtime of this microscope at a minimum.

Services Include:

Exceptional service and support by certified Nikon Biosystem Service Specialists who provide preventative maintenance and system optimization to Nikon specifications

*Preform preventative maintenance services and system optimization to Nikon quality specifications

• Consultation with authorized Nikon Technical experts via web or phone support to reduce system downtime

• NIS-Elements software updates

• One Preventative Maintenance (PM) visit per Service Agreement year

• Repair Parts, Labor and Travel expenses to reduce costs

• Pre-approved repair and service authorization – means no waiting for a purchase order to have your system repaired (using a credit card each time and thus splitting the order into 4 or more visits)

• Multi-year and multi-system packages:

Cost-effective pricing options Substantial savings over list price Customized to meet your needs

This is a Service Contract for a 12-months Service Contract. The system initial purchase price was in excess of $500,000. As such, it is in the government's interest to arrange service and maintenance from the original manufacturer.

This proposed procurement is for a service for which the government intends to award as a sole source to the original manufacturer. This is a continuation of the same services from the last year (and prior). In order to comply with the requirements in this Special Notice # NICHD-22-061, the responses should be based on our interpretation of the general requirements provided above. Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit quotations. This notice is not a request for competitive quotes. However, all quotes received within the time and date of publication of this "Special Notice” will be considered by the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete with this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a future competitive procurement.

It is the intent of NIH/NICHD to procure this service exclusively from Nikon Instruments. However, the government reserves the right to make the offer open and receive competitive quotes for evaluation.

In order to compete for this project, interested parties must be registered in the Central Contracting Registration/SAM and submit a price quotation by 10:00 am, ET, March 16 2022. Offerors should submit one copy of the quote to MOE FILALI via email. Electronic transmissions to Moe.Filali@nih.gov are preferable but must be timely. It is the responsibility of the Offeror to ensure the proposal is received by the date and time shown above.

The following Federal Acquisition Regulations clauses are incorporated by reference: FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (Mar 2005), 52.212-4 (Sept 2005), 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes of Executive Orders-Commercial Items (Aug 2006). (6)(i) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Apr 2002) (E.O. 11246). (18) 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (Dec 2001) (38 U.S.C. 4212). (19) 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (Jun 1998) (29 U.S.C. 793). (20) 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (Dec 2001) (38 U.S.C. 4212). (31) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration (Oct 2003) (31 U.S.C. 3332).

Primary Point of Contact:

MOE FILALI Contracting Office Address:

NIH/NICHD Office of Acquisitions 6710B Rockledge Drive, Room 1145D Bethesda, MD 20817

(w) 301.827 7737 Moe.filali@nih.gov