Attune Xenith Flow Cytometer

Notice of Intent to Sole Source

Notice Type:
Special Notice / Notice of Intent to Sole Source

Notice Number / NOI ID: NIH-NOI-26-PCA-NCI-02843

Title:
Attune Xenith Flow Cytometer

Posted Date:
July 7, 2026

Response Date:
July 20, 2026, 11:00 AM Eastern Time
 

Classification Code:
6640 – Laboratory Equipment and Supplies

NAICS Code:
334516 – Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing

Contracting Office Address:
National Cancer Institute
Office of Acquisitions
National Institutes of Health
 

Description

This is a Notice of Intent, not a request for quotations or proposals.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Center for Cancer Research (CCR), Pediatric Oncology Branch (POB), intends to negotiate and award a Firm-Fixed-Price purchase order on an open market basis for the acquisition of one (1) Thermo Fisher Scientific Attune Xenith Spectral Flow Cytometer, including the CytKick Max Automated Sample Loader, associated proprietary software, installation, startup services, user training, warranty coverage, and manufacturer-supported service.

The Government believes that Thermo Fisher Scientific / Life Technologies Corporation is the only responsible source capable of providing a system that meets the Government’s minimum needs.

This requirement is being processed as an open market purchase because the required product/configuration is not available on GSA or any other Government contract vehicle in a manner that satisfies the Government’s requirements.

Required Capabilities / Salient Characteristics

The required system must provide, at a minimum, the following:

• Spectral flow cytometry capability with full-spectrum fluorescence detection and spectral unmixing;
• Conventional compensation-based flow cytometry capability to support continuity with existing assays and workflows;
• Minimum six-laser optical configuration, including ultraviolet (UV), violet, blue, yellow-green, red, and near-infrared (NIR);
• Minimum 51 fluorescent detectors and 6 scatter detectors;
• Acoustic-assisted hydrodynamic focusing technology;
• High-throughput sample acquisition capability;
• Compatibility with complex biological samples, including tumor, tissue, blood, and cellular therapy samples;
• Compatibility with an automated sample loading system capable of processing 96-well and 384-well plate formats;
• Inclusion of the CytKick Max automated sample loader;
• Integrated instrument control and analysis software for acquisition, spectral analysis, quality control, and data export;
• Touchscreen operation and automated maintenance functions;
• Remote diagnostics and manufacturer-supported service support;
• Vendor-provided installation, startup, training, and warranty coverage.

Justification for Sole Source

The Pediatric Oncology Branch requires a spectral flow cytometry platform to support translational and clinical immunotherapy research involving CAR-T cells, T-cell receptor therapies, natural killer cells, γδ T cells, and immune monitoring of pediatric patient-derived tumor and blood samples.

Market research identified multiple commercial spectral flow cytometry platforms. However, the Government determined that only the Attune Xenith satisfies the required combination of technical and operational characteristics necessary to support the mission. Specifically, the Attune Xenith is the only product identified that provides:

1. Both spectral and conventional flow cytometry capability in a single platform, which is necessary to preserve continuity with existing assays while enabling higher-dimensional spectral analysis;
2. Acoustic-assisted hydrodynamic focusing technology, which is required to support high-speed acquisition, difficult biological samples, and reduced clogging/downtime;
3. Compatibility with the CytKick Max automated sample loader, which is required for high-throughput shared-resource operation;
4. Operational continuity with existing Attune workflows and user familiarity, which minimizes implementation risk, retraining burden, workflow disruption, and delays to ongoing research;
5. A configuration suitable for limited pediatric clinical specimens, where maximizing data quality and throughput from scarce samples is essential.

Although other commercial systems were reviewed, they would require adoption of new workflows and software environments, increased retraining, greater implementation risk, and reduced continuity with existing Branch operations. As a result, those alternatives do not satisfy the Government’s minimum needs to the same extent and would introduce unacceptable mission and operational impacts.

Accordingly, the Government intends to negotiate with Thermo Fisher Scientific / Life Technologies Corporation as the only source capable of meeting the requirement.

Delivery / Place of Performance

Delivery and installation shall be made to:

Building 10 CRC, Room 1-3872
10 Center Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892

The required delivery, installation, startup, training, and acceptance period is anticipated to be completed within approximately 12 weeks after award.

Interested Parties

This notice is not a solicitation. However, any responsible source that believes it can provide a product meeting all of the Government’s minimum requirements may submit a capability statement.

Responses must include sufficient detail to clearly demonstrate the ability to provide a product that meets all required salient characteristics and support requirements, including:

• product literature/specifications;
• explanation of how the product meets each salient characteristic;
• availability of installation, training, warranty, and OEM-authorized support;
• business size and socioeconomic status;
• UEI and CAGE, if applicable.

Responses that merely state an ability to provide “equal” equipment without addressing each requirement in detail will not be considered adequate.

All responses must be submitted electronically to:

Primary Contact: Linda Smith, Contracting Officer, linda.smith2@nih.gov and;

Secondary Contact: Danielle Tines, Procurement Technician (c), danielle.tines@nih.gov

Responses are due no later than July 20, 2026, 11:00 AM Eastern Time.

Important Notice

This notice is for informational purposes only and is not a request for competitive quotations. No solicitation document is available. The Government will not be responsible for any costs incurred by respondents in preparing or submitting a response.

A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed acquisition based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.