Mice vapor self-administration chambers

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) within the Department of Health and Human Services has issued a pre-solicitation notice for vapor self-administration chambers for mice, specifically for research on brain circuits and areas involved in drug addiction, reward, and aversion. The agency intends to award a sole source contract to La Jolla Alcohol Research, Inc. for 16 additional vapor chambers, as their e-Vape system is reportedly the only market solution that allows mice to self-administer vaporized drugs. The research objectives include comparing sex and strain differences in mice drug self-administration, evaluating the role of neuropeptides and stress hormones in drug dependence, and studying how these elements participate in specific brain regions. The solicitation is classified under NAICS code 334516 (Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing) with a size standard of 1000 employees. Interested parties may submit capability statements by July 29, 2025, at 10:00 am Eastern Time to Polina Klimenkova at polina.klimenkova@nih.gov, though the government retains discretion on whether to proceed with competitive or non-competitive procurement.

This procurement does not utilize any set-aside designations and appears to favor La Jolla Alcohol Research, Inc. as the sole source provider, given that NIDA already operates 32 of these specialized chambers from the same vendor. The current solicitation seeks 16 additional vapor chambers to expand the existing research capabilities. The contract falls under PSC code 6640 for Laboratory Equipment and Supplies, indicating specialized scientific instrumentation. While specific award values or budget ranges are not disclosed in the notice, the sole source nature and specialized requirements suggest this represents a significant investment in research infrastructure. The timeline allows interested parties a two-week window from the July 14, 2025 posting date to submit capability statements by the July 29, 2025 deadline.