Exosome Purification, Exosomal RNA Purification, and Small RNA-Sequencing Services
Contract Overview
Solicitation details, issuing organization, response deadlines, documents, and interested companies for this government contract opportunity.
AI Contract Overview
The National Institutes of Health, in collaboration with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, seeks specialized laboratory services to support the POTS clinical research study conducted at NIH in Bethesda, Maryland. The contract requires a qualified provider to process 31 irreplaceable plasma specimens from human participants, performing integrated exosome isolation, exosomal RNA purification, and small RNA-sequencing using Illumina platforms. These tasks must be completed with strict adherence to sample integrity and chain of custody protocols, as the requiring laboratory lacks the validated capacity or bandwidth to perform these procedures in-house within the required timeframe. Each specimen, consisting of 0.5 mL of plasma, must be processed to yield intact exosomes split into multiple aliquots, with exosomal RNA extracted and_QUALITY controlled, and a portion used for downstream sequencing. The contractor is responsible for supplying all personnel, equipment, reagents, and materials necessary to complete the work. The provider must prepare libraries, sequence all 31 samples on the Illumina platform with a target of approximately 20 million raw reads per sample at 1x51 bp, and deliver sequencing data to the government via both physical hard drive and digital download. Basic bioinformatics processing, including read trimming, filtering, and mapping, is also required to ensure analysis-ready outputs. All specimens and resulting materials must be returned to the NIH in accordance with prescribed protocols, maintaining proper documentation and tracking throughout the entire workflow. The solicitation, numbered 75N98026Q00707, is open for response until July 7, 2026, under NAICS code 541714, with no set-aside requirements, and point of contact for inquiries is John Burton at NIH.
General Info
Agency
NAICS
Place of Performance
MD, 20892, USASet-Aside
Timeline
Response Deadline
Organization & Contact Information
Full Description
Requirements:
BACKGROUND
With collaboration with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), requires laboratory services in support of a clinical research study (POTS) in the laboratory of Dr. Paule V. Joseph at the NIH (Building 10, Bethesda, Maryland). The study requires processing of plasma specimens from 31 enrolled human research participants to isolate intact exosomes, purify exosomal RNA, and perform small RNA-sequencing for downstream analysis. These time-sensitive, irreplaceable specimens must be professionally processed to preserve sample integrity and yield analysis-ready data. The requiring laboratory does not have the in-house validated workflow or capacity to perform integrated exosome isolation, exosomal RNA purification, and Illumina small RNA-sequencing to the required standard within the necessary timeframe. The acquisition is therefore pursued to obtain these specialized services from a qualified provider so that the study's analyses can proceed without loss of specimen integrity or previously collected clinical data.
SCOPE OF WORK/TASKS
The contractor shall furnish all labor, equipment, instrumentation, reagents, and materials necessary to isolate intact exosomes, purify exosomal RNA, and perform small RNA-sequencing on the 31 Government-furnished plasma specimens, maintaining specimen integrity and chain of custody throughout.
The following tasks are required for this requirement:
- Purify intact exosomes from 0.5 mL of plasma for each of 31 samples; split the elution into aliquots A and B, and further split aliquot A into two intact-exosome aliquots (two vials per sample returned to the client).
- Purify exosomal RNA from intact exosomes (aliquot B); elute into two RNA aliquots per sample (one returned to the client and one used for small RNA-sequencing); perform QC of the purified RNA.
- Perform small RNA-sequencing for 31 samples, including library preparation, library QC, and sequencing on the Illumina platform (1x51 bp, approximately 20M average raw reads per sample).
- Perform basic bioinformatics analysis (trimming, filtering, and mapping) and transfer all sequencing data to the client via hard drive and digital download.