Flash Purification Chromatography System with Automated Mass Directed Fraction Collection

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.

For equipment/supply requirements, responses must include: (1) the place of manufacturing (i.e. address if supply/equipment is a domestic end product and include country of manufacture), as well as (2) the size status of the manufacturer under the applicable NAICS code (i.e. address Non-Manufacturer Rule). 

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: Chemists of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) confirm the mass of compounds eluting in fractions collected during flash silica gel purification by manually taking aliquots from several fractions, entering these aliquots to separately located reverse phase LCMS systems, and then waiting for LCMS results to determine what fractions contain compounds of their interest. Biotage’s Isolera + Dalton System will be a dedicated normal flash purification system that will not only collect fractions based on UV but also acquire the mass spectrum of compounds while they are being eluted into fractions. This will significantly cut down the manual step of acquiring the LCMS separately of fractions in order to verify the identity of the compounds.

Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of this acquisition is to acquire one (1) of Biotage’s Isolera + Dalton 2000 System or Equal that meet all salient characteristics.  

The salient physical, functional, or performance characteristics that “equal” products must meet are specified in the purchase description below.

Purchase Description: Biotage’s Isolera + Dalton 2000 Purification System or Equal

Salient characteristics: The following salient characteristics are necessary for the requested equipment:
1.    Miniaturized, single quadrupole mass analyzer 
2.    Chip-based electrospray ionization
3.    Detection range m/z 80–800
4.    Mass accuracy ± m/z 0.5 in full scan in a temperature controlled environment, ±3 °C
5.    Mass resolution m/z 0.7 ±0.1 FWHM in full scan in a temperature controlled environment, ±3 °C
6.    Automatic sampling adjustment 
7.    Start-up time of 30 minutes
8.    Fully integrated vacuum pumps 
9.    Isolera™ Spektra Control interface
10.    User serviceable parts Spraychip® (chip based ESI source)
11.    Vac-chip™ (microengineered atmospheric pressure interface)
12.    Compatible with Isolera™ Spektra flash chromatography systems
13.    Gas requirement 2–6 bar N2
14.    Gas consumption 2.5 L/min
15.    Power requirement 100–240 V AC; 50–60 Hz
16.    Power consumption 320 VA (Isolera™ Dalton Detector)
17.    Power consumption 130 VA (Isolera™ Dalton Nanolink)
18.    Certifications: CE, cTÜVus

Delivery Date: Within ninety (90) days after receipt of order

Capability statement /information sought:  Respondents must provide clear and convincing documentation of their capability of providing the equipment specified in this notice.

The respondent must also provide their UEI 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.

One (1) copy of the response is required and must be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format using 11-point or 12-point font, 8-1/2” x 11” paper size, with 1” top, bottom, left and right margins, and with single or double spacing. 

The information submitted must be in an outline format that addresses each of the elements of the service requirement and in the capability statement /information sought paragraphs stated herein.  

The response must include the respondents’ technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone 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 Sarah Adan, at e-mail address sarah.adan@nih.gov with the subject line NCATS-22-005659SS.   

The response must be received on or before July 7, 2022, 12:00 pm, Eastern Time.