SOURCES SOUGHT: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer

This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice.

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:  Coronaviruses are a large family of RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) viruses known to cause respiratory disease in people and animals. There are a host of symptoms from infection including fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, difficulty breathing, fatigue, headache, loss of taste and smell, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which can range from mild to severe and even lead to death. Recent outbreaks of lethal Coronavirus strains have caused Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and the current Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) global pandemic. COVID-19 was caused by widespread infection from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Even with the successful development of mRNA (i.e., Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna) and viral vector (i.e., J&J) vaccines to provide immunity against SARS-CoV-2, the discovery of new variants raises concerns about the need for additional vaccines. Furthermore, the length of acquired immunity against SARS-CoV-2 continues to be unknown. These are just a couple factors that necessitate ongoing research focused on Coronaviruses. As part of these efforts, comprehensive analytical analysis of the viral targets and their purported antiviral treatments will be required throughout the therapeutic discovery and development process.

NMR spectroscopy is arguably the most powerful analytical tool a chemist has at their disposal for the identification and confirmation of organic molecules. Medicinal chemists at DPI use the NMR instruments daily to collect compound data, as well as conduct more advanced NMR experiments overnight.  Constant access to fully functioning NMR instruments is imperative to maintain productivity in the successful pursuit of the DPI mission. While the ACC operates and maintains several open access 400 MHz NMR spectrometers, they are unable to be integrated with the Automated Chemistry Platform, which will restrict analytical analysis capabilities. To ensure successful integration of automated NMR data acquisition and analysis requires the acquisition of a Bruker Ascend 400 MHz NMR system with Avance Neo Nanobay.

Purpose and Objectives: This requirement is to purchase a Bruker Ascend 400 MHz NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) system with an Avance Neo Nanobay and accessories for the ACC (Analytical Chemistry Core) group within the DPI (Division of Preclinical Innovation) at NCATS (National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences).

Project requirements/Salient Characteristics:

Vendor must be able to provide these specifications:

1. NMR CONSOLE AVANCE NEO 400 MHZ Nanobay - PART# AV4400NS (QTY=1)
2. MAGNET SYSTEM ASCEND 400 MHz SB - PART# MSASC400SB (QTY=1)
3. MAGNET STAND ASCEND Type 'F' API - PART# AH3013 (QTY=1)
4. HELIUM TRANSFERLINE - PART# AH0070 (QTY=1)
5. NITROGEN REFILL KIT PFA TUBE - PART# AH0074 (QTY=1)
6. SHIM SYSTEM BOSS-3 SB PLUG - PART #AH3002 (QTY=1)
7. SHIM UPPERPART BST SB - PART# AH3007 (QTY=1)
8. NMR Workstation (WINDOWS) - PART# PCWIN (QTY=1)***
9. NMR WS MONITOR 24" LCD - PART# AP2521 (QTY=1)
10. TopSpin 4.x Basic license - PART# SHTS000-04 (QTY=1)
11. iProbe BBFO 5mm BBF/1H (air) - PART# PA3823_BF/H_OZ (QTY=1)
12. SampleCase (24 position) - PART# AH0171 (QTY=1)
13. 5mm SB SPINNER (POM) - PART# AH3050_50 (QTY=24)
14. AH0016 - VT GAS COOLER (BCU-I) - PART# AH0016 (QTY=1)
15. AutoCalibrate sample and license (ACA) - PART# AH1510A (QTY=1)
16. ONE TON TRIPOD - PART# BMAG002 (QTY=1)
17. NMR ON SITE INSTALLATION

***Specs for NMR Workstation (WINDOWS):

• Intel Xeon E5-1620v4 (up to 3.8 GHz), Quad Core
• 16GB DDR4-2133 (2x8 GB) RAM
• NVIDIA Quadro K620 2 GB GFX graphics card
• 2TB 7200 RPM SATA HDD
• Integrated Intel I-218 Gbit LAN (SPECT)
• Intel Ethernet I210-T1 PCIe NIC (NET)
• 9.5 mm Slim SuperMulti DVDRW 1st ODD
• USB US-Keyboard and USB mouse
• Preinstalled Windows 10 (64 Bit) and TopSpin 4.x (w/o license)

WARRANTY: Twelve (12) month period of warranty coverage and support to begin after installation of system is complete.

Quantity:

One (1) each per item #1-12 and 14-17 and twenty-four (24) per item #13 listed in salient characteristics

Anticipated delivery: 5 Months ARO

Delivery Location (FOB):

NIH

9800 Medical Center Drive

Rockville, MD 20850

Capability statement /information sought. Respondents must provide, as part of their responses, a capability statement clearly identifying their ability to provide the requested service.

The respondent 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.

One (1) copy of the response is required and must be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format using 11-point or 12-point font, 8-1/2” x 11” paper size, with 1” top, bottom, left and right margins, and with single or double spacing.

The information submitted must be in an 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 ten (10) page limit.  The 10-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested.

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 Rashiid Cummins at e-mail address rashiid.cummins@nih.gov.

The response must be received on or before July 30th, 2021, 3:00 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).”