Sources Sought PCA-NIEHS-04985.docx

SX20-LED Stopped Flow System and associated components Sources Sought Notice # PCA-NIEHS-04985 Contracting Office Address Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Office of Acquisitions, OA Office of the Director, OD 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 537-S, Bethesda, MD, 20892.

Introduction This is a notice issued on behalf of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Acquisitions, OA Office of the Director, OD, DHHS, UNITED STATES. This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this Sources Sought is to seek the availability and capability of small business concerns, including 8(a) small business and/or small qualified small business concerns [including Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB), Woman-owned Small Businesses (WOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Businesses, Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB) and Service-Disabled Veteran-owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB] that are interested in and capable of performing the work described in the statement of work. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible.

Background

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is seeking small businesses with the ability to provide SX20-LED Stopped Flow System and associated components.

STATEMENT OF NEED:

The NIEHS requires the acquisition of a SX20-LED Stopped Flow System and associated components. The Nucleolar Integrity Group at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) investigates molecular machines involved in critical RNA processing pathways through an integrated approach combining structural, molecular, and cellular biology. The Group's current research focuses primarily on three areas: ribosome assembly, tRNA processing, and viral RNA processing.

A critical requirement of these research programs is the ability to characterize rapid molecular events and determine the kinetics of RNA degradation and multi-protein complex formation associated with ribosome biogenesis and RNA processing. Conventional endpoint assays are insufficient to fully resolve these rapid processes because many biologically important intermediate steps occur on millisecond or faster timescales. The Group therefore requires a high-sensitivity stopped-flow instrument capable of monitoring rapid biochemical reactions in real time. The instrument is specifically suited for rapid kinetic measurements involving enzyme activity, protein folding, protein-ligand interactions, and other biochemical reactions. Its high sensitivity and rapid acquisition capabilities will allow NIEHS investigators to monitor transient reaction intermediates and characterize the sequence and kinetics of molecular events.

A significant requirement for the Group is the ability to collect fluorescence measurements with high sensitivity while also supporting absorbance measurements without requiring substantial system reconfiguration. The SX20-LED stopped-flow cell incorporates a specialized light pipe designed to maximize collection of fluorescence emission while maintaining flexibility between fluorescence and absorbance detection modes.

The system's LED-based excitation configuration provides a broad range of wavelengths suitable for fluorescence-based kinetic measurements and sample irradiation applications. The LED light sources provide enhanced sensitivity for relevant applications while offering flexibility for experiments requiring different excitation wavelengths.

The instrument's rapid mixing and detection capabilities are particularly important for the Group's research. The SX20-LED system can provide valid measurements at reaction times as early as approximately 0.1 milliseconds, enabling investigators to study exceptionally fast biochemical events. Interchangeable 20 µL and 5 µL flow cells provide additional flexibility for rapid-reaction experiments while minimizing consumption of valuable, difficult-to-produce, or otherwise sensitive biological samples.

Precise temperature control is also required for the Group's kinetic studies. The system provides controlled experimental temperatures across a broad operating range of approximately -20°C to 60°C, allowing reaction conditions to be maintained consistently from the initiation of the experiment through data acquisition. Temperature control is essential for accurately characterizing reaction rates and determining the effects of temperature on molecular processes.

Acquisition of the SX20-LED Stopped-Flow System will enable the Nucleolar Integrity Group to:

· Measure the real-time kinetics of RNA degradation and processing reactions.

· Characterize the formation and dissociation of multi-protein and RNA-protein complexes.

· Resolve rapid intermediate steps in ribosome assembly and RNA processing pathways.

· Determine substrate and product binding kinetics.

· Identify rate-limiting steps within biochemical reaction pathways.

· Characterize reaction mechanisms and transient intermediates.

· Measure enzyme kinetics and other rapid biochemical processes with high temporal resolution.

· Conduct fluorescence and absorbance measurements under controlled temperature conditions.

· Minimize sample consumption through the use of low-volume flow cells.

The combination of rapid temporal resolution, high-sensitivity fluorescence detection, flexible LED excitation, absorbance capability, low-volume flow cells, and precise temperature control makes the SX20-LED system particularly well suited to the Nucleolar Integrity Group's research requirements.

Period of Performance: This is a one-time supply acquisition with associated training and warranty support.

The Contractor shall provide all resources necessary to accomplish the tasks and deliverables described in this Statement of Work (SOW). Subject to prior approval of the Contracting Officer (CO), the Contractor may acquire the services of a subcontractor and/or consultants to provide specialized services if deemed appropriate and within scope by the COR.

The Contractor shall employ a technical approach, utilize organizational resources, and implement management controls to achieve the cost, schedule, and performance requirements throughout the execution of the Contract Requirements. The Contractor shall be responsible for providing, managing, and overseeing its personnel, as well as any subcontractor/consultant efforts used in the performance of the Contract Requirements.

This is intended to be a firm-fixed price contract.

Capability Statement Small business concerns that believe they possess the capabilities necessary to undertake this work should submit complete documentation of their capabilities to the Contracting Officer. The capability statement should include 1)Name and address of the vendor, 2) Size and type of business, 3) Point of contact with the name, title, phone, fax, and email, 4) UEI number. 5) the professional qualifications of experts, and technical personnel as it relates to the above outlined requirements, any other information considered relevant to this service. The capability statement must not exceed 7 pages. Interested small business organizations are required to identify their size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone numbers of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number.

Point of Contact:

Luz Casey, Program Specialist, Office of the Director, OD, Luz.Casey@nih.gov.

Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Office of Acquisition, Office of the Director, 6701 Rockledge Dr., Rm 537-S, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA Submission Instructions:

Interested parties shall submit capability statements via email to Luz Casey at Luz.Casey@nih.gov. Due Wednesday, September 16, 2026 @ 8:00 am EST.

All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered.

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in the response. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your 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 provide the item. 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 review of the responses received, pre-solicitation and solicitation notices will be published in GSA eBuy or SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.