REDACTED Justification JOFOC LiCor Odyssey M 2022.pdf

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition at or Below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold

Project Title: LI-COR Odyssey M (Chemi/Fluor)

I . Identification of the agency and contracting activity

II. Description of the project, and supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value) A. Type of action. Check the appropriate box:

☒ New requirement ☐ Follow-on

• Name of the previous contractor(s): ________________________________

• Sequence number(s), if available: ____________________________________

• Was the initial and any subsequent awards competed? ☐ Yes ☐ No

B. AMBIS Sequence number for this requirement: 2133298 C. Total estimated dollar value of the requirement (including options, if applicable):

D. Period of performance, inclusive of options: from September 2022 until the instrument becomes obsolete, estimate for more than 10 years E. Project Background

The Cellular Biology Section (CBS) in the Laboratory of Viral Diseases (LVD) carries out investigations into the molecular biology of viruses, the interactions of viruses with host cells, the pathogenesis of viral diseases, host defense mechanisms, as well as fundamentals of cellular biology and immunology focusing on protein generation, degradation and antigen processing and presentation. We have been very active in discovery of the mechanisms influenza uses to evade the immune system. Recently, we have used our expertise in antigen processing and presentation, taking advantage of multi-omics approach, to elucidate peptide generation and presentation in Diffuse Large B cell lymphoma cancer. These studies are designed to increase fundamental knowledge and facilitate the development of new approaches to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and/or even cancer. The goals of CBS are to determine the mechanisms used by viruses and tumors to evade the host immune response. We have extensively used the first version of Li-Cor Odyssey CLx infrared imaging system for 7 years in CBS, widely sharing the equipment with other LVD sections. The Li-Cor Odyssey CLx infrared imaging system became a standard for Western blotting (classic & in-cell) analysis and found the use in many other assays involving infrared imaging, moving forward every research project we worked on (including SARS-CoV-2 research). Recently, we found ourselves in need for expanded imaging capabilities for these classic assays as well as for newly developed assays in CBS as the advancement in the field moves forward. The new Li-Cor Odyssey M (Chemi/Fluor) would be a significant upgrade and it would ease the demand on the older CLx instrument. Also, the new instrument would allow us to combine expanded infrared imaging with chemiluminescent imaging to take advantage of a new small peptide tagging system recently adopted in CBS (Promega’s NanoBiT system), in which we have high hopes to further deepen our knowledge in cellular biology/immunology. Another major advantage would be that all the reagents used with the old version are compatible with new instrument and are already present in laboratory.

F. Description of the supplies or services to be purchased

We wish to purchase the following:

3350-02 Odyssey M (Chemi/Fluor) - Data Integrity Bundle Plus

III. Identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition (SELECT ONE)

☒ 41 USC 253(c)(1) a n d F A R P a r t 6 . 3 0 2 - 1 : Only one responsible source

☐ 41 USC 501 a n d F A R P a r t 8 . 4 0 5 - 6 : Federal Supply Schedule (FSS), limited competition Important Note: The statutory authorities listed below will rarely ever be used in NIH. Before selecting one of these authorities, please ensure that you have read and understood the citation and discussed it with the cognizant Contracting Officer.

☐ 41 USC 253(c)(2) a n d F A R P a r t 6 . 3 0 2 - 2 : Unusual & compelling urgency

☐ 41 USC 253(c)(3) a n d F A R P a r t 6 . 3 0 2 - 3 : Industrial mobilization; or engineering, developmental, or research capability; or expert services

☐ 41 USC 253(c)(4) a n d F A R P a r t 6 . 3 0 2 - 4 : International agreement

☐ 41 USC 253(c)(5) a n d F A R P a r t 6 . 3 0 2 - 5 : Authorized or required by statute

☐ 41 USC 253(c)(6) a n d F A R P a r t 6 . 3 0 2 - 6 : National security

☐ 41 USC 253(c)(7) a n d F A R P a r t 6 . 3 0 2 - 7 : Public interest

IV. Demonstration that the proposed contractor(s) unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

A. Name and address of the proposed contractor(s)

LI-COR, Inc.

4647 Superior St.

Lincoln, NE 68504 USA Phone: 402-467-0700 U.S. & Canada: 800-645-4267 Email: bio.orders@licor.com

B. Describe why only the requested supply/service will meet the government’s needs

Li-Cor develops easy-to-use versatile multi-purpose infrared imaging systems with an over 20-years tradition enabling scientist to produce high quality data. To our knowledge Li-Cor is the only company to offer combined laser point scanning and sCMOS image sensor technology in a line scanning system that incorporates differential scanning. This feature allows for the Li-Cor Odyssey line of scanners to be operated as true scanner compared to most of the competitors in the field using dark/black box combined with CCD camera imaging. The scanner format of Odyssey system has one of the smallest space footprints among similar instruments on market. Li-Cor Odyssey M (Chemi/Fluor) has 18 detection channels (4 lasers: 488, 520, 700, 800 nm; 4 Epi / Trans channels: RGB, 470, 525, 630 nm; and chemi- /bio-luminescence channel), which allows for unprecedented 3-color (3 different target proteins) detection on single western blot. The chemiluminescent channels add up another way of multiplexing classic western blotting technique.

The unique scanner format allows for variety of novel applications in scanning tissue culture plates for in-cell western assay and enables scanning of infrared/near-infrared labeled tissue sections.

Considering that CBS and other LVD sections adopted Li-Cor technology 7 years ago, and the compatibility of the reagents used with the new Odyssey M (Chemi/Fluor) are already present in current working environment the follow mailto:bio.orders@licor.com up cost of the reagents would be highly minimized as well as the need of training. The original Odyssey CLx instrument proved to be easy-to-use, with user-friendly interface, responsive technical assistance and basically no maintenance cost over the years which makes a point about the quality and reliability Li-Cor provides.

We reviewed couple of other instruments used for the same/similar purpose on the market but none of those would fit our needs for various reasons (majority being “dark/black” box based imaging systems, lack of scanner functionalities, lack of resolution, in case of scanners like the Cytiva’s Typhoon FLA 7000 the space footprint being too big compared to Li-Cor’s Odyssey M system) when compared to Odyssey M (Chemi/Fluor) imaging system. We considered: ChemiDoc MP Imaging system (BioRad); Jess or Abby Complete protein analysis solution (ProteinSimple/BioTechne); G:BOX Chemi XX6/XX9 or G:BOX mini 6/9 (SYNGENE); Typhoon FLA 7000 (Cytiva).

The Odyssey M Imager provides reliable data for membranes, plate-based assays, slides, and nucleic acid and protein gels. It is versatile and can capture assays in 18 channels, including white light, luminescence (i.e., bioluminescence and chemiluminescence) and fluorescence (i.e., visible and near-infrared (NIR)). The Odyssey M Imager uses infrared detection and laser excitation and sCMOS-based line imaging for optimal sensitivity; it also offers a wide range of illumination and no imager saturation in biologically relevant samples to overcome common band saturation issues.

Together, these features enable the Odyssey M Imager to capture high quality images from a wide range of assays for publishable results. Applications include but are not limited to: 3 color western blot, ECL western blot, in gel wester, ELISA, in-cell western, DNA gels, protein arrays, protein gels, tissue section imaging, virus focus assay imaging.

Major advantage of the Li-Cor Odyssey M (Chemi/Fluor) imaging system is that it is NOT dependent on proprietary consumables.

C. Describe why only the proposed contractor is capable of providing the requested supply/service

Li-Cor, Inc. is the sole source for Odyssey M (Chemi/Fluor) imaging system. Odyssey M (Chemi/Fluor) is a unique instrument among competitors allowing for multi-purpose, multi-format image/data acquisition without reliance on proprietary consumables.

V . Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost/price to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The price is determined to be fair and reasonable based on (provide a narrative describing how the determination was made and the rational for the determination):

VI. Certification This is to certify that the justification for the proposed acquisition has been reviewed and that to the best of my knowledge and belief the information and/or data provided to support my request (for the requestor) and approval (for the CO) of is accurate and complete.