Furnish and Deliver a Proprietary Illumina NextSeq 1000 Benchtop Next-Generation Sequencing System for the Biology Department

Southeastern Louisiana University's Purchasing Department has issued an Invitation to Bid (ITB) for the furnish and delivery of a proprietary Illumina NextSeq 1000 benchtop next-generation sequencing system for the Biology Department. The procuring jurisdiction is Vernon Parish in Louisiana. The solicitation requires the delivery of one integrated sequencing system that must be new and current model, equipped with 12 months of manufacturer's standard warranty coverage, installation services, and user training. The system must utilize reversible terminator sequencing-by-synthesis chemistry with bridge amplification and fluorescent nucleotide detection, support flexible read lengths from 50 base pairs (single-end) to 300 base pairs (paired-end), and provide minimum output capacity of 10 gigabases per run with maximum capacity of at least 240 gigabases per run. The equipment must include integrated hardware-accelerated secondary genomic analysis capabilities for sequence alignment, variant calling, demultiplexing, and base quality filtering. Sealed bids are due by 4:00 p.m. Central Time on March 25, 2026, at the Purchasing Department's Property Control & Supply Building in Hammond, Louisiana, with public bid opening occurring 72 hours after request. Bid prices must include all transportation, handling, and delivery costs on an FOB destination basis with Net 30 payment terms from receipt of properly executed invoice or delivery, whichever is later.

The procurement is designated as proprietary due to the Lake Maurepas Biomonitoring Project's requirement for methodological consistency with existing sequencing-by-synthesis datasets used in previous project phases. Southeastern Louisiana University is exempt from Louisiana State Sales and Use Taxes, and bidders must include all other applicable taxes in their unit prices. Vendors must provide proof of commercial general liability insurance with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 general annual aggregate, along with workers' compensation and automobile liability coverage as applicable, with the State of Louisiana and Southeastern Louisiana University named as additional insureds. Louisiana preference may be claimed by bidders for products produced, manufactured, or assembled in Louisiana that are equal in quality to out-of-state products. No specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises are mentioned in the solicitation documents, nor are there identified incumbent vendors or current contractors listed. The University reserves the right to award items separately or grouped and to reject any or all bids and waive informalities, though no specific budget range or award value is disclosed in the available documentation.