Automated Single Cell printer

Description:

This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement.

This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only.

Background: The Stem Cell Translation Lab (SCTL) within the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) has established a workflow to develop reporter cell lines which entails transfection, single-cell dissociation, and single-cell deposition into multi-well plates using a specialized type of flow cytometry called fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). We have determined that the bottleneck of our current workflow is the poor survival of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) after single-cell deposition into multi-well plates by FACS. The cell damage is due to the working principle of FACS, which involves the acceleration of cells into the fast-flowing sheath fluid. iPSCs suffer substantially from this process and have a poor recovery. The consequent low clonality results in extensive screen time and low efficiency.

Project requirements: NCATS seeks a single-cell printer that enables gentle, fully automated single-cell plating into microwell plates for iPSCs clonal expansion. The device must be able to single-cell sort cells into microwell plates with an efficiency greater than 80%, provide increased cell viability of 75%, feature use of disposable single-use cell printing microfluidic cartridges to reduce contamination and generate pico-liter droplets that encapsulate cells, and posess FDA approval for monoclonality, image-based documentation and 5-40um cell range coverage.

Anticipated period of performance: Delivery to be 2-6 weeks after receipt of order.

Capability statement /information sought. Respondents must provide product literature or other information clearly describing how their product meets the project requirements.

Respondents must also provide their DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HubZone, etc., pursuant to the applicable NAICS code and any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the acquisition requirements.

The response must include the respondents' technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses.

All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist. Facsimile responses are NOT accepted.

The response must be submitted to Stuart Kern, Contract Specialist, at stuart.kern@nih.gov, by 1:00 p.m. Eastern time, Friday, January 11, 2019.

Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in 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. Information provided will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for the potential requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. 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.

Any solicitation resulting from the analysis of information obtained will be announced to the public in Federal Business Opportunities in accordance with the FAR Part 5. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

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