Agilent BioTek Cytation 5 Cell Imaging Multimode Reader (Brand Name or Equal)

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a separate written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation number is 75N95023Q00585 and the solicitation is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ) on unrestricted basis, as a full and open competition. This acquisition is for a commercial item or service and is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13'Simplified Acquisition Procedures; and FAR Part 12'Acquisition of Commercial Items, and is not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. A fixed-price type of purchase order is contemplated for this requirement. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-05, dated August 8, 2023. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334516 - Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing. This requirement shall be solicited using full and open competitive procedures. The Government requires an Agilent BioTek Cytation 5 Cell Imaging Multimode Reader (Brand Name or Equal) with the following brand name or equal items which must meet the following general and specific technologic requirements: General Requirements: - Combination of hybrid microplate spectrophotometer and advanced fluorescence digital microscope mode in one system that enables a wide range of cellular and reflected-light applications to decipher information on cell morphology, localization of signal, cell count, object identification and quantification that cannot be performed on a standard fluorescence microscope or a microplate spectrophotometer. - A fully automated inverted microscope system enables widefield fluorescence microscopy, brightfield microscopy, color brightfield microscopy, and time-resolved fluorescence microscopy with multiple imaging modes including: - Multi-color imaging with distinctive emissions in visible spectra to gain a better understanding of biological processes. - Time-lapse imaging in live specimens under physiological conditions (with temperature and humidity control) to study organelle dynamics. - Montage mode to apply large field imaging of cell and tissue samples. - Z-stack imaging to resolve the full structure of thick specimens. - Software that allows walk-away automation to increase productivity. - Software package for image processing and data analysis. - A microplate spectrophotometer enables a range of cell-based assays and applications including: - Luminescent signal detection to perform luciferase reporter assays that allows accurate quantification of transcription, gene expression, and cell signaling pathways. - Fluorescence intensity measurement with monochromator optics to perform a wide range of fluorescent-based cell assays such as cell viability, cytotoxicity, enzyme activity, protein conformation and aggregation and reactive oxygen species. - UV-VIS absorbance spectrometric determination to measure the concentration and purity of nucleic acid, proteins, microbial cell culture, denaturation of protein, enzymatic kinetics, and biological samples. - Time-resolved fluorescence to detect protein-protein interaction quantitatively. - Software for easy setup of analysis workflow. - Support various labware including microscope slides, cell culture dishes, flasks, and 6- to 1536-well microplates. - Interface with the Agilent Seahorse XF Pro Analyzer for a validated, unified normalization solution. Specific Requirements: - A LED pulsed light source for fluorescence imaging, fluorescence intensity measurement, and UV-Vis absorbance reading. - 4-zone incubation to 65'C with the ability to set temperature gradient to prevent condensation on plate lids. - Interface with the Agilent Seahorse XF Pro Analyzer for a validated, unified normalization solution. - Imaging mode: - LED cubes for DAPI (365 nm) and GFP (465 nm) excitation. - A cMOS camera with wide field of view and 16-bit grayscale depth for dynamic range of >65,000 fluorescence units that allows imaging collection rate as fast as < 3 min for 1 color, < 7 min 30 sec for 3 colors in 96-well plate format. - Six-position automated turret for objectives. - Capacity for four user-replaceable fluorescence cubes that allows multi-color imaging with a maximum of four fluorescent signals. - Imaging emission filter cubes for detection of DAPI and GFP signals. - Image-based and laser-based autofocus system that allows stable imaging acquisition and accurate quantification of fluorescence signals. - Auto exposure and auto-LED intensity adjustments. - Software for image processing including stitching, Z-projection, and deconvolution. - Software for imaging analysis including automatic cell counting, subpopulation analysis and other imaging-based analysis. - Fluorescence intensity measurement: - Monochromator optics with wavelength range from 250 nm to 700 nm and bandwidth from 9 nm to 50 nm with 1 nm increments for fluorescence. - A photomultiplier tubes (PMT) detector for sensitive detection of fluorescent signals. - Quad monochromator with sensitivity of - A dynamic range of 7 decades. - Reading speed of 11 sec for 96-well plate, 22 sec for 384-well plate. - Luminescence measurement: - Luminescence reading wavelength range from 300 nm to 700 nm. - A dynamic range > 6 decades. - Monochromator optics with reading sensitivity of 20 amol ATP. - UV-Vis absorbance reading: - Monochromator optics with a wavelength range from 230 nm to 990 nm and bandwidth of 4 nm (230-285 nm) and 8 nm (> 285 nm). - A photodiode detector for UV-Vis detection. - Dynamic range of 0 - 4.0 OD with the resolution of 0.0001 OD. - OD accuracy < 1% at 2.0 OD, < 3% at 3.0 OD; OD repeatability < 0.55 at 2.0 OD. - Reading speed of 11 sec for 96-well plate, 22 sec for 384-well plate. Quantity: One (1) Agilent BioTek Cytation 5 Cell Imaging Multimode Reader with G7 workstation and GEN5 Image+ software (Brand Name or Equal) Please refer to Attachment 1 - Purchase Description for details and information describing the brand name or equal salient characteristics and requirements. Deliveries: Deliveries shall be made 60 days after receipt of order to the following address: National Institutes of Health Zuhang Sheng 35 Convent Dr Bldg 35 RM 2B-215 Bethesda MD 20892 USA The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors'Commercial Products and Commercial Services (MAR 2023) is applicable and incorporated by reference into this solicitation. The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (NOV 2021) is applicable and incorporated by reference into this solicitation. The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. Each quote will be evaluated in strict conformity with the evaluation factors. The evaluation will be based upon the demonstrated capabilities of the prospective Contractor in relation to the needs of the project as set forth in the solicitation. The quote will also be evaluated taking into consideration any price reductions for the requirement being ordered. A price reasonableness determination will be made and a best value analysis will be performed. The best value analysis will take into consideration the results of the technical evaluation, price evaluation, and the ability to complete the work within the Government's required schedule. The analysis will document that the award represents the best value to the Government (considering technical evaluation factors, past performance, and price) to meet the Government's needs. The Government reserves the right to issue an order to the best advantage of the Government, technical merit, price, and other factors considered. All aspects of a quote are subject to discussion, including price, technical approach and terms and conditions. At the completion of discussions, the Contractor will ensure the technical and price quote reflects the mutual understandings of the requirement and if requested, submit a revised technical and price quote to the Contracting Officer. The Government may request clarifying information from the Contractor, as it relates to its quote. If an award will be made without conducting discussions, Contractors may be given the opportunity to clarify certain aspects of their quote (e.g., the relevance of the contract, the Contractor's past performance information, and adverse past performance information to which the Contractor has not previously had an opportunity to respond) or to resolve minor or clerical errors. Discussions will not be held with any Offeror determined to be technically unacceptable. The Government reserves the right to make a single award, multiple awards, or no award at all as a result of the solicitation. In addition, the solicitation may be amended or canceled as necessary to meet the Government's requirements. A tradeoff process shall be used for this acquisition because it has been determined to be in the best interest of the Government to consider award to other than the lowest priced Offeror or other than the highest technically rated offeror. All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are more important than cost or price. For this acquisition, the following considerations will be part of the trade-off process: Technical Evaluation Factors including Past Performance, and Price. The evaluation factors are used by the technical evaluation committee when reviewing the technical quotes. The factors below are listed in order of its relative importance for evaluation purposes. Technical Capability and Functionality NINDS shall evaluate the offeror's technical approach for overall capability and functionality in relation to the General Requirement, Salient Characteristics, Quantity and Deliverables as described in the Purchase Description. Contract Management and Customer Support NINDS shall evaluate the offeror's ability to provide a high level of customer service, particularly in the area of initial responsiveness and resolution of device and service problems. Specifically, the Government will evaluate the Offeror's capability based on its description of any applicable warranty and customer support process. Speed of Delivery, Installation and Set-up NINDS shall evaluate the offeror's technical approach for completeness, feasibility, soundness and practicality of the proposed approach and work plan for accomplishing the requirements of the Purchase Description. PAST PERFORMANCE The Offeror should provide past performance information. Past performance information shall cover a minimum of one (1) year in relevant services and deliveries of comparable systems. The Offeror should provide at least one reference for any project identified under the experience factor that has a performance period within the past three (3) years. For each reference, the offeror shall provide the following: (1) Organization or contracting partner's name; (2) Point of contact's (POCs) name and contact information (i.e., current phone numbers and valid email addresses); and (3) a description that precisely explains the general scope and specific requirements of the contract. Offerors will be evaluated based on information obtained from references provided by the offeror, other relevant past performance information obtained from other sources known to the Government, and any information supplied by the offeror concerning problems encountered on the identified contracts and corrective action taken. Furthermore, the Government will assess the relative risks associated with each offeror. Performance risks are those associated with an offeror's likelihood of success in performing the acquisition requirements as indicated by that offeror's record of past performance. The assessment of performance risk is not intended to be the product of a mechanical or mathematical analysis of an offeror's performance on a list of contracts but rather the product of subjective judgment by the Government after it considers all available and relevant information. PRICE EVALUATION Offerors price quote will be evaluated for reasonableness. For a price to be reasonable, it must represent a price to the government that a prudent person would pay when consideration is given to prices in the market. Normally, price reasonableness is established through adequate price competition, but may also be determined through cost and price analysis techniques. Price evaluation will not be conducted on any Offeror determined to be technically unacceptable. The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Products and Commercial Services (DEC 2022), is applicable and incorporated by reference into this solicitation. The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions'Commercial Products and Commercial Services (DEC 2022), applies to this acquisition. See Attachment 2. The provision of FAR Clause 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Products and Commercial Services (MAR 2023), applies to this acquisition. See Attachment 3. There are no additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions applicable to this acquisition. The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) is not applicable to this requirement. Responses to this solicitation must include sufficient information to establish the interested parties bona-fide capabilities of providing the product or service. Responses to this solicitation must include clear and convincing evidence of the Offeror's capability of fulfilling the requirement as it relates to the government requirements stated in this solicitation. Basic cost and price information in the Offeror's proposal must contain sufficient information to allow the Government to perform a basic analysis of the reasonableness of the Offeror to supply the required goods/services. Any other information or factors that may be considered in the award decision may include such factors as: past performance; special features required for effective service coverage; trade-in considerations; warranty considerations; maintenance and service coverage availability; serial, product or catalog number(s); product description; delivery terms, and prompt payment discount terms. The Contractor shall submit its quote electronically. Offerors MUST verify the valid certifications, registrations, and Representation and Certifications from the System of Award Management (SAM) applications at www.SAM.gov, which may be indicated on the Offeror's cover sheet. In addition the vendor Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and the certification of business size must be included in the response. All Offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov. All responses must be received no later than August 23, 2023, 1:00 PM EST. Late responses may not be accepted. All responses must reference solicitation number 75N95023Q00585. Responses must be submitted electronically to alexander.beraud@nih.gov. For information regarding this solicitation, please contact Alexander Beraud by email at alexander.beraud@nih.gov. DATE QUESTIONS DUE: Questions and requests for clarification must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist, Alexander Beraud by email at alexander.beraud@nih.gov on or before 11:00 AM EST, August 21, 2023. Fax responses will NOT be accepted. PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHED COMBINED SYNOPSIS SOLICITATION FOR ALL RELEVANT DETAILS.