National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Microscope, table, and associated accessories for whole cell slice electrophysiology studies

1. 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 Unit on Neuromodulation and Synaptic Integration (NSI) is a new laboratory recently established at the NIMH. This laboratory will utilize cutting-edge electrophysiological studies to determine how information is processed by the brain at the cellular, microcircuit, and systems levels to ultimately understand the computations that drive physiological behavior and psychiatric disorders.

Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of this acquisition is to provide the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) with two Olympus or equal electrophysiology rigs with all the components necessary to successfully execute whole-cell slice electrophysiology as a means to dissect the function of neuronal circuits implicated in psychiatric disorders.

Project requirements:

The Contractor shall provide the following required equipment.

· BX51WIF microscope with associated components, quantity 2

· Retiga Electro Camera and Software, quantity 2

· Sutter MT-1000 with MPC-385 micromanipulator bundle for BX51WI microscope, quantity 2

· TMC Cleanbench air table and accessories, quantity 2

· HP-G4 Z4 Tower Computer, Win10, Intel Xeon W-2102 2.9 2400MHz 8.25 4Core CPU, 32GB DDR4-2666 RAM, 512GB SATA SSD, 2x1TB SATA HDD, Quadro P600 2GB, quantity 2

· Warner Instruments PH-1 chamber platform, low-noise imaging chamber, TC-344F Heater Controller, SF-28 slow flow solution in-line heater, chamber heater, CC-28 cable assembly for heater controllers, quantity 2

Anticipated Period of Performance: Delivery 30 days following receipt of orders.

Capability statement /information sought: Contractors that believe that they possess the ability to provide the required equipment, should submit documentation on their ability to meet each of the project requirements to the Contract Specialist.

The Contractor should directly and specifically state in the, capabilities statement, which project requirements can be meet and/or supplied. The Contractor 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 information submitted must be must be in and outline format that addresses each of the elements of the project requirement and in the capability statement /information sought paragraphs stated herein. A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required.

The response is limited to two (2) page limit. The 2-page limit does not include the cover page or executive summary.

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 Jeffrey E. Brown, Contracting Officer, at jeffrey.brown@nih.gov.

The response must be received on or before November 26, 2018 at 12 pm, Eastern Time.

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 to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work.

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. After a review of the responses received, a presolicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. 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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