NOTICE OF PROPOSED SOLE SOURCE PURCHASE 484.pdf

UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI

Notice of Proposed Sole Source Purchase

#SS 484

The University of Mississippi (UM) anticipates purchasing the item(s) listed below as a sole source purchase. Anyone objecting to this purchase as a sole source shall follow the procedures outlined below.

Commodity or commodities to be purchased (manufacturer, model, description):

Harrick Plasma PDC-001-HP High Power Expanded Plasma Cleaner

The need to be fulfilled by this item(s) and why it is the only one that can meet the specific needs of the department:

The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry seek a compact, tabletop plasma cleaning system used for nanoscale surface cleaning and surface chemistry modification. The system should consist of a cleaner, vacuum gauge, sample tray, and oxygen service pump as a complete working package. The PDC-001-HP is the only model on the market that incorporates inductively coupled plasma technology in a compact, tabletop configuration with RF power adjustable to 45W, a 6" × 6½" plasma chamber, and an integrated valve assembly for controlling gas flow, chamber pressure, and venting. The paired PDC-VCG thermocouple vacuum gauge provides pressure-monitoring resolution specifically suited to plasma formation, which is essential for reproducible surface preparation in our research. The manually controlled design is both cost-effective and broadly usable across disciplines, making it uniquely suited to our laboratory's nanoscale surface cleaning and surface modification work.

Name of company/individual selling the item and why that source is the only possible source that can provide the required item(s):

Harrick Plasma is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the PDC-001-HP and is the sole producer and distributor of this specific plasma cleaner design and no other vendor manufactures or distributes an equivalent unit with the same inductively coupled technology and chamber specifications.

A review of the plasma cleaning equipment market confirmed that Harrick Plasma is the only manufacturer of a product that meets the technical requirements of our research applications.

Why the amount to be expended for the commodity is reasonable:

The total purchase amount is $18,663.00 is reasonable given that the system is a specialized, manufacturer-direct scientific instrument with no equivalent alternative.

Efforts that the agency went through to obtain the best possible price for the commodity:

The department secured both an academic discount ($539.00) and an additional promotional discount ($898.00), reducing the total cost by $1,437.00. These discounts represent the best available manufacturer pricing for this instrument.

Submission Instructions and Format of Response from Objecting Parties:

Interested parties who have reason to believe that the item(s) above should not be certified as a sole source should provide information in the following format for UM to use in determining whether or not to proceed with awarding the Sole Source purchase.

1.1 Interested Party Information

1.1.1 Contact Name, Phone Number, Address and email address

1.1.2 Company Website URL, if applicable

1.2 Objection to Sole Source Certification

1.2.1 Interested parties must present specific objections to the Sole Source certification using the criteria listed above.

1.2.2 A statement regarding the Interested Party's capabilities as related to this Sole

Source Certification Request.

1.2.3 Comments will be accepted at any time prior to Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 10:00 am (Central Time). Comments should be addressed to:

Jeff Wells, Procurement Manager The University of Mississippi Procurement Services 164 Jeanette Phillips Drive PO Box 1848 University, Mississippi 38677

1.2.4 Responses may be delivered by hand, via regular mail, overnight delivery, or e-mail at solesource@olemiss.edu with cc: to purchase@olemiss.edu and must reference the sole source number.

1.2.5 UM WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DELAYS IN THE DELIVERY OF RESPONSES. It is solely the responsibility of the Interested Parties that responses reach UM on time. Interested parties may contact Jeff Wells to verify the receipt of their responses. Responses received after the deadline will be rejected.

If after a review of the submitted notice and documents, UM determines that the commodity in the proposed sole source request can be provided by another person or entity, then UM will withdraw the sole source certification and submit the procurement of the commodity to an advertised competitive bid or selection process.

If UM determines after review that there is only one (1) source for the required commodity, then UM will appeal to the Public Procurement Review Board for approval to purchase.

mailto:solesource@olemiss.edu mailto:%20purchase@olemiss.edu