HRB_Purchase_Description.pdf

Version 11-30-2016-1 FAR Part 11—Describing Agency Needs

PURCHASE DESCRIPTION

1. Statement of Need and Purpose: The purpose of this acquisition is to obtain a fully automated robotic workstation capable of performing cherry-picking, dose-response (in both single and multiple agent fashion), reformatting and replication of compound libraries using acoustic dispense technology into SBS-standard microplates.

2. Background Information and Objective: The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in several acoustic dispensing instruments. These instruments are capable of transferring small volumes of liquid (in the nL range) from a source plate to a destination of plate of any well density. These capabilities have enabled the establishment of Matrix screening where multiple compounds or drugs are screened against one another in a dose response fashion. Over time this has become a standard method of screening at NCATS and is one of the core technologies provided by the Research Service and Support (RSS) group.

Over time, the adoption of acoustic dispensing has grown beyond just being used for Matrix screening to a variety of other applications, increasing the need for a diverse set of instruments to keep up with growing demand. This demand became even more pressing upon completion of the NIH Small Molecule Repository contract (HHSN271201200003I-HHSN27100001) with the work previously being performed by Evotec Inc. now becoming the responsibility of NCATS. A key piece of equipment put into use during the course of the contract was a LabCyte Echo acoustic dispenser which has now become a critical component of a variety of RSS operations involving the creation of assay ready plates. This growing demand now requires a fully automated robotic platform to help RSS support NCATS in achieving its scientific mission.

3. Generic Name of Product: Assay-ready Plate Preparation robotic workstation.

4. Purchase Description:

Item Type Manufacturer Part Name Robot HRB ACell RobotTrack – 2.0m

Device Table HRB MultiTier Device Table with Guarding

Turntable HRB Turntable for ECHO

Docking Station HRB MicroDock

Cart HRB MicroCart

Delidder HRB LidValet

Plate Incubator HRB SteriStore D

Software Drivers HRB Cellario Device Drivers

5. Salient characteristics:

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) requires one (1) fully automated enclosed robotic platform including climate controlled and ambient plate storage, plate handling capabilities via a robotic arm with the ability to be integrated with a Labcyte Echo and all other required peripheral devices to encompass the capabilities necessary for an Assay-ready Plate Preparation Workstation. The Described Robotic Platform (DRP) must have the following characteristics:

REQUIRED DRP FEATURES AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT & SOFTWARE

1. The DRP must measure no larger than 8’L x 6’W x 8’H, including enclosure, due to space constraints.

2. The DRP must be fully enclosed to prevent contamination of cells and samples.

3. The DRP must include an acoustic liquid handler.

4. The acoustic liquid handler must have a volume transfer range between 2.5nL – 10uL.

5. The acoustic liquid handler must support a variety of reagent types; including DMSO, PCR and qPCR reagents, synthetic biology reagents, NGS reagents, primers and probes, cell culture media, proteins, nucleic acids, up to 50% glycerol, serum, plasma, antibodies, enzymes, and protein crystallography reagents.

6. The acoustic liquid handler must NOT require any reagent specific calibration.

7. The DRP must include an integrated ambient storage system that fits at least 740 SBS-standard microtiter plates.

8. The integrated ambient storage system must be random access.

9. The DRP must include an integrated climate controlled storage system that fits at least 220 SBS-standard microtiter plates.

10. The integrated climate controlled storage system must be random access.

11. The integrated climate controller storage system must have a temperature range of 4 to 50 °C with a tolerance of +/- 0.3 °C and a relative humidity range of 90- 95%.

12. The DRP must have quick delidding and lidding capabilities for up to four (4) microplates active on the system at a time.

13. The DRP must run from a dynamic scheduling software and be able to optimize throughput in order to run as many samples as possible and minimize evaporation.

14. The scheduling interface must be user-friendly such that a biologist can potentially create and run their protocol.

15. The scheduling software must be reliable to avoid detrimental system crashes.

16. The scheduling software requires the ability to run custom scripting components in order to track source and destination plate association as well as correlation of aspirations and dispenses from and to specific wells.

17. The scheduling software must be able to fully recover from errors that may occur during a run.

18. The robotic arm used on the DRP will need to have access to all devices specifically with a horizontal reach of 450mm and a vertical reach of 750mm.

The tolerance shall be + or – 90um.

19. The robotic arm will need to be taught all system positions using a quick and simple process such that a biologist could potentially handle this task.

20. The robotic arm and more specifically gripper must be able to pick and place labware very reliably to avoid losing expensive samples/experiments due to poor accuracy.

21. The DRP must be able to have Brooks Automation XPeel, Agilent Technologies Centrifuge, Labcyte Echo, Thermo Multidrop CombiNL, Liconic STX220-HRBT climate controlled plate storage and Liconic LPX740 ambient storage device integrated.

22. It is extremely important that the DRP be capable of handling, tracking and associating a limited set of 384-well source plates (4 for example) to over 100+ 1536 destination plates in an acoustic dispense run in a dual dose-response combination screening fashion taking no longer than 12 hours.

23. Robot envelope: provides user with the exceptional reach and range in both the x, y and z-axis. The minimum z-axis travel must be 750 mm

24. The DRP must have - Product accessibility: full access to all devices using a turntable or sliding shelves to access devices with simplistic cable management is required.

25. The DRP must have - Modular system design: the ability to easily reconfigure the system in less than 60 seconds

26. The DRP must include Echo expansion software for cherry picking and and IC50. The DRP must have the ability to manipulate cherry picking and IC50 on the Echo via a standard, non-custom interface.

27. Software must have - User Experience: the software incorporates the latest software technologies to ensure that whether designing protocols, or launching an order, the focus is always on a user-friendly interface, backed up by the highest levels of application reliability

28. Software must have - Order Interleaving and Scheduling: can run multiple orders in parallel, and supports injection of new orders with time or event-based control.

29. Software must have - Gantt Chart Simulations: Fast Gantt Chart simulations with accurate protocol timing data that allows operators to use detailed sample treatment and resource utilization statistics to quantitatively optimize their orders before run-time

30. Software must have - Sample Input Control: A wide range of sample input control mechanisms can be used to balance throughput and sample treatment for the required application

31. Software must have - Device Pooling: Supports a wide range of pooling options for all classes of device, even complex liquid handlers. Strategies including “first available”, “round robin” and “fail over” can be defined during protocol design and then dynamically adjusted while orders are live on the system

32. Software must have - Scripting Components: allows operators to run custom scripting components not embedded into the software. Multiple languages must be supported (for example, Java, VB or .NET), scripts must have access to a number of run time variables including plate number and barcode

33. Software must have - Decision Nodes: using the results of a custom script execution to alter a plate’s processing pathway mid-run

34. Software must have - Plate processing manipulation: provides the ability to manipulate assay handling parameters of a specific plate mid-run

35. Software must have - Device Control: the ability to remove a device from the system during a run to use in stand-alone mode and then, once action is complete, return the device back into active use on the platform is required. This action must not allow stoppage of the protocol

6. Quantity: 1

7. Delivery Date: Work to begin 30 days ARO

8. Period of Performance: NA

9. Option(s): NA