RFQ Attachment 1_Purchase Description.docx

PURCHASE DESCRIPTION

1. Statement of Need and Purpose:

This purpose of this acquisition is to purchase of a high-content imaging system for the iPSC Neurodegenerative Diseases Initiative (INDI) Project within the Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (CARD).

2. Background Information and Objective:

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Intramural Center for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias (CARD) is a collaborative initiative of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) that supports basic, translational, and clinical research on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

CARD’s central mission is to initiate, stimulate, accelerate, and support research that will lead to the development of improved treatments and preventions for these diseases. Understanding the molecular signature of the human brain is essential to study pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases.

The Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Neurodegenerative Disease Initiative (iNDI) is a comprehensive genome engineering project. iNDI researchers are engineering genetic variants associated with Alzheimer’s and related dementias into cell models of disease. These cell models start as Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) that can be grown into different brain cell types for genomic and proteomic studies.

As part of the iPSC Neurodegenerative Disease Initiative, researchers intend to measure how neurodegeneration-related mutations alter protein networks of disease-relevant iPSC-derived cells. The most sensitive and scalable method to measure these changes is confocal imagery. Recent advances in imaging technologies, particularly high content methodologies, have enabled quantification of thousands of proteins, including low-abundant proteins, from biological samples in single runs.

3. Generic Name of Product: High-content imaging system

4. Purchase Description: High-Content Screening System (Opera Phenix Plus or equivalent) The required imaging system is a high-throughput microplate confocal imager designed for high-content assays. It must be able to acquire, analyze, and manage fluorescence, brightfield, and digital phase contrast images. The system must be suitable for cellular analysis and must image thick samples such as organoids and tissue slices.

5. Salient characteristics: The high-content imaging system shall include the following:

1. System shall be an enclosed, fully integrated unit designed for automated multi-well plate screening, handling plates up to 1536 wells. Integrated High Content Analysis software shall be included.

2. System shall include Micro Lens Enhanced Dual Spinning Disk Confocal Unit comprised of a microlens disk and a pinhole disk with fifty (50) micron (μm) pinhole diameter and 550 μm spacing between pinholes.

3. System shall include four (4) Scientific Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (sCMOS) Cameras as Detectors with at least 4.7 million pixels each, for simultaneous multi-channel capture.

4. System shall include confocal Synchrony Optics, which separates excitation of adjacent fluorescence channels in time and space to reduce spectral crosstalk during simultaneous multicolor confocal imaging.

5. Fluorescence excitation shall be provided by internal solid-state lasers, with the following minimum characteristics: 375 nm with 50 mW power; 425 nm with 100mW power; 488 nm with 150 mW power; 561 nm with 100 mW power; 640 nm with 140mW power.

6. System shall provide automated real time image alignment which generates superimposed images when imaging with multiple cameras simultaneously based on Quasiperiodic grid technology.

7. Each sCMOS Camera Detector shall include emission filter wheel with eight (8) positions.

8. System shall include a six (6) position objective turret. All objectives shall be bar coded for automatic recognition and configuration.

9. System shall include an integrated internal Water Pump Kit to provide water feed for three (3) simultaneously mounted water immersion objectives while scanning a multi-well plate.

10. System shall include a 10x air objective with Numerical Aperture (NA) of at least 0.30 and Working Distance (WD) of at least 5.2 mm

11. System shall include a 20x air objective with NA of at least 0.40 and WD of at least 8.28 mm

12. System shall include a 20x air objective with NA of at least 0.80 and WD of at least 0.55 mm

13. System shall include a 40x air objective with NA of at least 0.75 and WD of at least 0.71 mm

14. System shall include a 20x water immersion objective with NA of at least 1.0 and WD of at least 1.7 mm

15. System shall include a 63x water immersion objective with NA of at least 1.15 and WD of at least 0.6 mm

16. To provide continuity with ongoing studies, the 20x water immersion and the 63x water immersion objectives shall be capable of scanning the entirety all wells of the Revvity Phenoplate 384 well imaging plates currently in use by the government.

17. System shall include LED light source for transmitted light brightfield illumination.

18. System shall include automatic Flatfield Correction without the need to capture and manage reference images. The user may decide whether or not to activate the function.

19. System shall provide Digital Phase Contrast as a transmitted light imaging technique to allow segmentation of unstained cells and tissue.

20. All transmitted light techniques shall be usable simultaneously with the integrated Robotic Arm component.

21. System shall include a high-speed capture mode of 105 frames per second at 948 pixels x 948-pixel resolution.

22. System shall include a holder for mounting of at least four (4) standard 1” x 3” microscope slides.

23. System shall allow simultaneous on-line acquisition, analysis and evaluation of images and data. This shall be at either the single cell, well or plate level.

24. System shall include single cell tracking software.

25. System shall provide advanced morphology features (“STAR method”) that allow quantification of various aspects of the form and structure of objects e.g. elongation, symmetry, smoothness of the border and spatial distribution of intensity features.

26. The system shall include SER Texture analysis to identify and quantify intensity patterns at the pixel distribution level.

27. System shall include Machine Learning software for automated separation of cells into individual phenotypic populations.

28. System shall provide a seamless prescan/rescan workflow. A fast, low magnification prescan will be analyzed using any of the complete suite of analysis features, not a limited subset. This analysis will automatically establish the imaging positions in XY and Z for the fields to be captured at high magnification rescan for subsequent analysis. Any offset between the objectives will be automatically corrected using a quasiperiodic grid.

29. The system shall provide 3D voxel-based rendering, segmentation and analysis functions as an integrated part of its basic software. A separate software package or module that requires image transfer from the basic instrument software shall not be acceptable.

30. 3D voxel-based measurement parameters, and 2D measurements resultant from the 3D voxel-based structure, shall include volume, sphericity, nuclei volume, surface area, inner sphere radius, footprint area, longest axis and number of fragments.

31. The system shall allow 3D objects to be segmented into discrete zones for localized analysis

32. The system shall provide seamless stitching of a user defined number of adjacent fields. Either the full stitched images or the original fields may be analyzed.

33. The system shall include two (2) simultaneous use licenses of all software as described above.

34. The system shall include a Robotic Arm component for microplate handling that shall be manufactured, integrated and supported by the same company as the High Content system.

35. The Robotic Arm component shall be a Collaborative, four (4) axis SCARA robot supporting side-by-side human-robot cooperation.

36. The Robotic Arm component shall enable microplate handling in both portrait and landscape orientations.

37. The Robotic Arm component shall have a maximum reach of 731mm and a maximum z plane travel of 750mm.

38. The Robotic Arm component shall include a bar code reader for.

39. The system shall include integrated scheduling software to control the Robotic Arm component and interface with the software of the High Content system.

40. The Scheduling Software shall allow autonomous 24/7 plate processing with the following protocols:

· Variable number of plates using a fixed experimental method

· Multiple runs to be started a specific dates and times

· Kinetic loops for time lapse

· Variable number of plates with two (2) subsequent experiments

· Variable number of plates with different experimental methods

41. System shall be field upgradable to an environmental chamber to control temperature, carbon dioxide concentration and active humidity. The environmental chamber shall permit use of all optical techniques including transmitted light brightfield and Digital Phase Contrast. Additionally, the environmental chamber shall be capable of simultaneous use with the integrated robotic plate handling equipment.

42. System shall be field upgradable to an automated Onboard Liquid Dispensing unit. This shall provide at least two (2) additions per well and experiment by including a compound plate and a secondary reservoir.

43. System shall be upgradable to an external plate incubator that is serviced by the Robotic Arm component.

6. Delivery Date: Delivery date of 12 months after receipt of purchase order. All deliverables shall be packaged, marked and shipped in accordance with Government specifications. The Contractor shall guarantee that all required materials shall be delivered in immediate usable and acceptable condition.

FAR Part 11—Describing Agency Needs