Nikon AXR-NSPARC-ABLATION-FLIM Microscopy System Purchase

The National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute seeks to purchase a Nikon AXR-NSPARC-ABLATION-FLIM microscopy system, with proposals due July 27, 2026 and questions due July 20, 2026. This is an unrestricted, commercial-item RFQ under FAR Parts 12 and 13 with no set-asides, small business size standard of 1,000 employees, NAICS code 334516 (Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing), and PSC code 6640 (Laboratory Equipment and Supplies).

Place of performance is Bethesda, Maryland 20892, at the Light Microscopy Facility in Building 50, Room 2318 of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

The system must include a Nikon Ti2-E inverted microscope with 25 mm diagonal field of view and 4th generation Perfect Focus System; AX-R Confocal Duo-Scanner with resonant and Galvano scanners capable of high-speed imaging at 720 frames per second (2048 x 2048 pixels) and high-resolution imaging (8192 x 8192 pixels); NSPARC detector with 5x5 single-photon avalanche diode array achieving 100 nm lateral and 300 nm axial resolution; AX-R DUV-B tunable detector supporting up to 70 channels; multiple laser sources (405, 440, 488, 514, 640, and 516 nm) in continuous wave and pulsed modes; PicoQuant Photon Counting FLIM Module with pulsed interleaved excitation and time-correlated single photon counting at 0.65 ns deadtime; UV ablation tool for photoablation and photostimulation; and fully integrated NIS Elements software with AI optimization tools.

Evaluation is best-value with technical capability weighted significantly above price across three criteria: Technical Capability and Compliance with Salient Characteristics (50 points), Warranty and Technical Support (30 points), and Past Performance and Experience (20 points). Award is Firm Fixed Price to the responsible offeror. The Government may select a higher-priced quote if additional technical merit or lower performance risk justifies the premium. The contract includes a unilateral Government option to extend for up to six months.