SERVICE MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT

This is a NOTICE OF INTENT, NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. A SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED AND PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE REQUESTED. This notice is being published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 5.201 and 5.204 requiring notice of a proposed contract action. This posting is NOT a request for competitive proposals. The statutory authority for this sole source action is 41 U.S.C. 253(c) (1) as implemented by FAR 13.106-1(b). Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Award is subject to Sole Source Justification approval. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) intends to issue a purchase order to Formulatrix, Inc., 10 Deangelo Drive, Bedford, MA 01730-2204pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1)----Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy Agency requirements. This requirement will provide a service maintenance agreement for a one year for the Minstrel/Gallery 160 system. The anticipated performance period will be from January 30, 2016 - January 29, 2017. The Division of Intramural Research (DIR), utilizes the Minstrel/Gallery 160 system to provide analysis of high crystal resolution. This instrument helps us locate conditions that produced macromolecular crystals to solve high resolution crystal structures. Automation of this process saves a significant amount of time. As well UV inspection (which cannot be done by a normal desktop microscope) helps the NIEHS determine the nature of the crystal allowing research scientists to distinguish between salt (bad) and protein (good) crystals. This saves precious samples as NIEHS scientists do not chase false positives. The service contract will cover the Minstrel DTUV, the Gallery 160 as well as the software required to operate the equipment as well as inspect and organize the data. Moreover, maintaining a service contract for the Minstrel/Gallery 160 system is important for keeping the equipment operational. Crystallization experiments require regular monitoring to determine if crystals have formed. Using the automated system, NIEHS samples are automatically imaged at a regular basis providing important information as to what conditions lead to crystal growth, how long they take to grow and crystal content (whether or not the crystals may be salt). Manual inspections of trays take significantly longer to do and do not provide information as to the content of the crystals themselves. In addition, this robot system performs this task at 4 C eliminating the need for a person to spend hours on end in the cold room as the images can be viewed by computer. If this system goes down it will slow down scientific productivity by reducing the amount of inspections that can be carried out as well as eliminating the acquisition of important information such as length of time it took for crystals to grow and crystal content. Knowledge of crystal content by UV inspection can reduce cost and time associated with chasing false positive crystal hits with precious and expensive samples. Crystallography is the mainstay technique for the Williams, Hall and Stanley labs as well as the X-ray Crystallography Core (Pedersen) that maintains the equipment and uses it for studies for other NIEHS investigators. This 1-year service contract shall ensure efficient long-term operation of our instrument and uninterrupted service coverage. Formulatrix is the sole source for the licensed selling, maintenance and care of their research/analysis equipment. This service contract serves to maintain current working status, on-site visits for repair when necessary and software upgrades as needed. Failure to purchase this service agreement will mean that upgrades will not be performed and that service visits will need to be paid upon request, costing thousands of dollars for each visit. This service contract will enable the equipment to operate at optimal levels and generate data comparable to what has been historically produced. This service maintenance agreement at the NIEHS (from January 30, 2016 - January 29, 2017) is in direct support of the Division of Intramural Research and this anticipated action will provide a seamless and fluid transition in terms of maintenance for this critical equipment. This contract action is anticipated in FY 2016. This notice of intent is NOT a request for competitive proposals. However, the Government may consider responses received within fifteen calendar (15) days of this posting. A determination not to compete this requirement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Written responses to this synopsis shall contain sufficient documentation to establish a bonafide capacity to fulfill this requirement. NIEHS will not be responsible for any costs incurred by interested parties in responding to this notice. Contracting Office Address: PO Box 12874 Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709 Place of Performance: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) -- Building 101 Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709-0002 United States Primary Point of Contact.: Dianne M. Gray, Procuring Contracting Officer graydi@niehs.nih.gov Phone: 9195417950 Secondary Point of Contact: Bernard Salter, Jr. Contracting Officer Bernie.salter@nih.gov Phone: 9195410426