Sources Sought PCA-NIEHS-05005.docx

Quantom Tx Microbial Cell Counter Basic Package with consumables Sources Sought Notice # PCA-NIEHS-05005 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 Quantom Tx Microbial Cell Counter Basic Package with consumables.

STATEMENT OF NEED:

The NIEHS requires the acquisition of a QUANTOM Tx™ Microbial Cell Counter to improve the speed, accuracy, reproducibility, and efficiency of bacterial cell quantification workflows supporting ongoing research activities.

Accurate microbial enumeration is an important component of multiple laboratory workflows. Current methods, including colony-forming unit (CFU) plating, optical density measurements, and manual hemocytometer counting, have significant limitations in terms of processing time, labor requirements, measurement consistency, and reproducibility. These limitations can negatively affect experimental timelines and increase the use of personnel, consumables, and laboratory resources.

Traditional CFU plating requires substantial preparation and use of growth media, followed by extended incubation periods that may require 24–72 hours or longer before results can be obtained. This turnaround time can delay downstream experimental activities and reduce overall laboratory efficiency. Optical density measurements provide an indirect estimate of microbial concentration and may be affected by factors such as cell morphology, aggregation, and sample characteristics. Manual counting methods are labor-intensive and dependent on individual operator technique, which can introduce variability between users and experiments.

The requested QUANTOM Tx system will provide a rapid, automated approach to microbial enumeration using fluorescence-based imaging. The system's bacteria-specific imaging and automated analysis capabilities will allow bacterial samples to be quantified within minutes, substantially reducing the turnaround time associated with conventional enumeration methods.

The system's imaging and declustering capabilities are particularly beneficial for samples containing aggregated or high-density bacterial populations. Such samples can be difficult to quantify accurately using conventional approaches because cell clusters may be counted as individual cells or otherwise produce inconsistent measurements. Automated image-based analysis will improve consistency and reduce operator-dependent variability.

Acquisition of the QUANTOM Tx Microbial Cell Counter will provide the laboratory with the ability to:

· Rapidly quantify bacterial populations and obtain results within minutes.

· Reduce the turnaround time associated with conventional microbial enumeration.

· Minimize labor associated with manual cell counting.

· Reduce reliance on large quantities of growth media and lengthy incubation periods associated with CFU plating.

· Improve consistency and reproducibility across users and experiments.

· Improve enumeration of aggregated or high-density microbial samples through automated imaging and declustering analysis.

· Standardize microbial quantification workflows and reduce operator-dependent variability.

· Improve utilization of personnel, laboratory space, consumables, and other research resources.

· Support more efficient progression of experiments and downstream research activities.

The automated nature of the system will also improve workflow standardization and data integrity by reducing manual intervention and providing a consistent analytical process. Reliable and reproducible microbial enumeration is essential for ensuring the quality and comparability of experimental results across studies and laboratory personnel.

Acquisition of the QUANTOM Tx Microbial Cell Counter is therefore necessary to modernize the laboratory's bacterial quantification capabilities and address the limitations of existing enumeration methods. The system will significantly improve analytical turnaround time, measurement consistency, and laboratory productivity while supporting efficient and reliable execution of ongoing research activities.

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.