Physiological Radiation Injury using Systemic Multiorgan and Countermeasure Evaluation

NASA's Shared Services Center is soliciting physiological radiation injury research using a systemic multiorgan microphysiological platform and countermeasure evaluation, with proposals due July 6. This is a sole source procurement under FAR 12.102(a), with NASA having determined that Biopico Systems Inc. is the sole provider capable of delivering the specialized service. Interested organizations may challenge the sole source determination by submitting written capabilities to Cara Craft (cara.s.craft@nasa.gov) no later than 1:00 p.m. Central Standard Time on July 6.

Place of performance is at the Biopico Systems Inc. facility in Irvine, California, with administrative oversight at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. The work spans 6 months beginning at award, with an estimated timeframe of July 2026 through January 2027.

The contractor shall establish an integrated system combining cerebral organoids, cardiac organoids, liver tissues, and endothelial barriers under recirculating flow conditions to assess radiation-induced injury and evaluate candidate countermeasures. Work includes evaluating radiation dose-response effects at 0.5, 1, and 2 Gy exposure levels using reactive oxygen species markers, ghH2AX/53BP1 DNA damage markers, cytokine analysis, viability assays, and tissue-specific functional assays. The contractor must assess four candidate countermeasure compounds—NAC, Metformin, Fisetin, and Amifostine—for effectiveness in reducing radiation-induced injury, with optional single-cell RNA sequencing available depending on outcomes. Required deliverables include radiation dose-response datasets, quantitative analysis of specified biomarkers and functional markers, countermeasure evaluation results, and a final analyzed dataset with summary report formatted to meet NASA data submission requirements.

The NAICS code is 541715, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences. The PSC code is AJ11, General Science And Technology R&D Services. NASA FAR Supplement Clause 1852.215-84 (Ombudsman) applies.