Identify Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds (MVOC)

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering Research and Development Center – Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) in Champaign, IL has a requirement a contractor with a trained analytical chemist with headspace solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) experience to perform the analyses and identify novel  microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOC) profiles generated due to species specific growth on a particular substrate.  The mold samples to be analyzed under this project are highly volatile in nature and MUST be analyzed on the same day as they are collected.  The samples will need to be hand delivered to the lab doing the analysis and cannot be shipped or mailed due to health and safety hazards.

The overall objective of this service is to develop a mold detection methodology based on MVOC fingerprinting that can not only detect fungal contamination in an indoor environment but also localize it to a particular substrate, e.g. common building material. The goal of this project is to perform a proof of concept study to determine if MVOC profiling can be used to differentiate between fungal species growing on different building substrates. Profiles will be created by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) of emitted MVOCs and examination by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). MVOCs will be identified via mass spectra data generated and principal component analysis (PCA) will be used to identify novel MVOC profiles generated due to species specific growth on a particular substrate.

ERDC-CERL intends to award a contract on a sole source basis to Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) at the University of Illinois in accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b) (1)).

Market research indicates that ISTC is the only source for this requirement because ISTC is the only professional accredited laboratory within a 60 mile radius of ERDC-CERL that has personnel with HS-SPME expertise and the required GC-MS equipment to perform such analysis on a same day basis.    

This is not a small business set aside

This Notice of Intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however interested parties may identify their interests and capability to respond to this requirement. Any interested party that believes they can fulfill this requirement should submit a capability statement to be reviewed. All submissions will be considered, however there is no guarantee that submissions in response to this notice will be in any way alter the Government’s acquisition strategy.

Please provide responses to this notice no later than the Response time listed above in this notice, to:  Andrea.D.Knowles@usace.army.mil

Telephone responses will not be accepted.

Responses to this notice will not be considered as a response to any solicitation, a request to be added to a prospective offers list, or to receive a copy of any solicitation.  A determination by the Government not to compete the contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.