Custom Solid-State MAS NMR Probe for 600 MHz Spectrometer

THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A CONTRACT OR PURCHASE ORDER WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION. The National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD), in support of the work of the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Disease (NIDDK), intends to award a purchase order without providing for full and open competition (Including brand-name) to Black Fox, LLC, 3251 Shamrock St E, Tallahassee, FL 32309 for the purchase of a Custom Solid-State MAS NMR Probe for 600 MHz Spectrometer. NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 334516 with a Size Standard 1000. REGULATORY AUTHORITY The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Circular (FAC) 2022-04 effective 01-30-2022. This acquisition is conducted under the procedures as prescribed in FAR subpart 13-Simplified Acquisition Procedures at an amount not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold ($250,000) and FAR Subpart 12- Acquisition of Commercial Items. STATUTORY AUTHORITY This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13'Simplified Acquisition Procedures, Subpart 13.106-1 (b) (1), Soliciting from a single source and is not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13'Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6'Competition Requirements. Place of Performance National Institutes of Health 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda MD 20892 United States DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT The objective of this purchase is to procure a new custom solid-state MAS NMR probe for use with an existing 600 MHz NMR spectrometer. The new MAS NMR probe is needed by the research group of NIDDK for experiments to determine the molecular structures of disease-related protein assemblies, including amyloid fibrils formed by amyloid-beta peptides that occur in Alzheimer's disease, capsid protein assemblies that exist within HIV-1 virions, and RNA/nucleocapsid assemblies that exist within SARS CoV-2. Compared to existing MAS NMR probes, the new MAS NMR probe will have improved performance with respect to NMR signal detection efficiency, RF pulse strengths, and the ability to be used in studies of fully hydrated protein assemblies. The solid-state MAS NMR probe must be compatible with the dimensions of an existing 600 MHz (14.1 Tesla) superconducting magnet and room-temperature shim set. The solid-state MAS NMR probe must be compatible with samples that are contained within 3.2 mm outer-diameter rotors, with the dimensions and design of "pencil rotors" manufactured by Phoenix NMR (formerly Revolution NMR). It must be possible to spin rotors with 22 microliter sample volumes at speeds up to 22 kHz, with stability of +/-10 Hz or better. The solid-state MAS NMR probe must include three RF channels. Task Area 1 - Delivery should be within 15 months of placement of this order. Task Area 2 - Delivery should be made to Dr. Robert Tycko, National Institutes of Health, Building 5, Room 409, Bethesda, MD 20892-0520. Shipping costs are not included in this order as the vendor will ship the order using the lab's FedEx account. Task Area 3 - Installation and testing will be performed by Dr. Tycko and members of his research group. The Design and fabrication of custom 3.2 mm solid-state MAS NMR probe for the 600 MHz NMR spectrometer with wide-bore (WB) Varian room-temperature (RT) shimse contractor shall provide the following service. Additional tune cards for another 1H /31P/13C combination of isotopes, 13C-channel detection; Optional semi-flexible insulated line to connect probe to FTS chiller and additional tune cards for another 1H /31P/13C combination of isotopes, 13C-channel detection. CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND- NAME) DETERMINATION The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted as prescribed in FAR Part 10'Market Research. Only one source is available: Per FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) the Contracting Officer has determined that Black Fox is the only vendor that can provide the Custom Solid-State MAS NMR Probe for 600 MHz Spectrometer. The following specifications are the only ones that can be met by Black Fox: The solid-state MAS NMR probe must include three RF channels. When configured for operation at 1H, 13C, and 15N NMR frequencies (599.2 MHz, 150.7 MHz, and 60.7 MHz, respectively), it must be possible to apply RF pulses on the 1H channel with 100 kHz amplitude for 20 milliseconds without arcing, using RF power of 300 watts or less; it must be possible to apply RF pulses on the 13C channel with 100 kHz amplitude for 5 milliseconds, using RF power of 200 watts or less; it must be possible to apply RF pulses on the 15N channel with 55 kHz amplitude for 5 milliseconds, using RF power of 300 watts or less. The RF coil sand RF circuitry within the solid-state MAS NMR probe must be designed to minimize heating of fully hydrated samples with high ionic strength during long, high-power 1H RF pulses. In particular, the RF field amplitude at the 1H frequency must be attenuated by no more than 5% when a 36-microliter sample of 1 molar NaCl solution is compared with a 36-microliter sample of pure water. CLOSING STATEMENT This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provided feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement, unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Vendor/Contractor's (UEI) the Unique Entity ID from SAM.gov is now the authoritative identifier for those doing business with the federal government. The DUNS Number is no longer valid for federal award identification, the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement. All responses to this notice (75N94022Q00087) shall be submitted electronically by 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, on April 22, 2022. Assessment of Capability The contractor will be evaluated on their capability to provide the product to the specifications as stated on the solicitation and shall be required to provide required service with certification from the OEM.