Miltenyi gentleMACS Octo Dissociator Benchtop Instrument with Heater Units

PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE – NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE

NOI-NIAID-25-2249890

NAICS – 334516 (Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing)

This is a Notice of Intent, not a request for proposal.  The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) intends to negotiate on an other than full and open competition basis with Miltenyi Biotec Inc, the manufacturer and proprietary provider of the gentleMACS Octo Dissociator Benchtop Instrument with Heater Units as required for research studies in the Laboratory of Allergic Diseases (LAD) Adaptive Immunity and Immunoregulation Section (AIIS) located in Bethesda, MD. The consideration of a trade-in of used equipment is relevant to this acquisition.

AIIS has the overall goal to define the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate the balance between protective and pathogenic adaptive immune responses to allergens. Ultimately, this research aims to develop new immunotherapies to treat and prevent food and respiratory allergies without inducing profound immunosuppression. The major areas of research are to characterize the mechanisms controlling adaptive immune responses, particularly memory T and B cells and T follicular helper cells, in the context of food and respiratory allergies; investigate how infections contribute to the development of allergies and how allergies, in turn, affect immune responses to pathogens and vaccines; and develop novel immunotherapies that balance protection and immunosuppression for food and respiratory allergens. This requirement is for two (2) 8-well dissociators to aid in the study of innate immune responses and microbiome research. The gentleMACS Dissociator enables reliable tissue dissociation or thorough homogenization to use in virtually any cell research field, including cancer, immunology, neuroscience, stem cell, and cardiovascular research, and allows for the researcher to process two sample in parallel resulting in time saving. This benchtop instrument with heater is equipped with several programs for fully automated tissue dissociation into single-cell suspensions, including mouse or human tumor; mouse or rat neonatal heart; neural tissue; mouse spleen, lung, lamina propria, epidermis, or liver; and mouse or rat skeletal muscle. This instrument is equipped with eight individual heating units that offer a fully automated workflow for tissue dissociation and allow the user to create user-defined programs all types of biological material studied in this lab. All eight positions are operated independently, and the single-cell suspensions or thorough homogenates are easily and reproducibly obtained using the unique C Tubes or M Tubes. These single use tubes allow sample preparation in a closed and sterile system, providing a high level of user safety and minimize cross-contamination. AIIS needs this instrument based on the need for continuity across experiments. These items are also necessary because they have been tested and validated to meet the maximum containment safety and inactivation protocols and SOP's.

The statutory authority for this sole source requirement is 41 U.S.C. 1901 (a) (1) as implemented by FAR 13.106-1 only one responsible source and no other supply of service will satisfy agency requirements. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. All responsible sources that could provide comparable services may submit a capability statement. All required documents must be submitted via the NIAID electronic Simplified Acquisition Submission System (eSASS) website at https://esass.nih.gov by December 12, 2024 at 5:00 pm ET. All vendors must register in the eSASS system to submit their documentation. Instructions on how to register /submit documents are included on the website. All responses received by the closing date of this synopsis will be considered by the Government. A determination not to compete this requirement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government.