SOURCES SOUGHT
66 -- Patch clamp system
- Notice Date
- 5/31/2013
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 334516
— Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899-1640, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20899-1640
- Solicitation Number
- AMD-13-SS47
- Archive Date
- 6/29/2013
- Point of Contact
- CHRISTOPHER JOHN GANEY, Phone: 3019756205
- E-Mail Address
-
christopher.ganey@nist.gov
(christopher.ganey@nist.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- General Information Document Type: Sources Sought Notice Solicitation Number: AMD-13-SS47 Current Response Date: Classification Code: 66 -- Instruments & laboratory equipment Naics Code: 334516 -- Contracting Office Address Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899-1640 The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) seeks information on commercial vendors that are capable of providing a patch clamp system, which will be used to control and measure electrokinetic phenomena in nanofabricated fluidic devices to characterize nanoscale particles in the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) user facility. Nanoparticle characterization methods based on electrokinetic phenomena in nanofluidic devices will be developed in the CNST NanoLab as a resource accessible to researchers in the CNST and to outside users via collaboration. After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed and specifications are developed for a patch clamp system that can meet NIST's minimum requirements, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a Purchase Order. If at least two qualified small businesses are identified during this market research stage, then any competitive procurement that resulted would be conducted as a small business set-aside. The CNST NanoLab has initiated a research project that will use nanofabricated fluidic devices to control nanoparticles by a combination of nanoscale confinement and electrokinetic phenomena such as electrophoresis and electroosmosis. In conjunction with nanofabricated fluidic devices, this research project requires the use of a variety of electrical equipment to precisely control and sensitively measure voltages and currents. In particular, the procurement of a patch clamp system will enable the research project to perform state of the art control and measurement of low voltages and low currents as system inputs and outputs. The major components of a patch clamp system, along with the function and minimum performance of these components, are specified as follows: 1. MICROELECTRODE AMPLIFER. A computer-controlled microelectrode-based amplifier with independent headstages for current-clamp and voltage-clamp experiments is required to sensitively control and measure electrokinetic phenomena in nanofabricated fluidic devices. The amplifier shall support up to a total of four headstages for future expansion. a. The amplifier shall have the following current-clamp specifications: i. A range of currents from 2nA to 200 nA over a range of feedback resistors from 5 GΩ to 50 MΩ, respectively. ii. A compliance of ± 3 V. iii. Rise times of: 1. < 15 μs for a load of 10 MΩ on a 50 MΩ feedback resister. 2. < 175 μs for a load of 1 GΩ on a 5 GΩ feedback resistor. iv. Pipette capacitance neutralization values of <-5 to >15 pF b. The amplifier shall have the following voltage-clamp specifications: i. A range of voltages from -1V to +1V. ii. Noise values at 10 kHz of: 1. <0.5 pA for a 50 GΩ feedback resistor 2. <1.0 pA for a 5 GΩ feedback resistor 3. <2 pA for a 500 MΩ feedback resistor 4. <5 pA for a 50 MΩ feedback resistor c. The amplifier shall enable automatic switching between current-clamp and voltage-clamp experiments by use of an external trigger or threshold detection. d. The amplifier shall automatically suppress undesirable current or voltage oscillations due to, for example, the inadvertent disturbance of electrodes in the reservoirs of a nanofluidic device. e. The amplifier shall correct voltage drifts due to changing electrode characteristics by the application of a compensation current over a defined time. 2. DATA ACQUISITION HARDWARE. A data acquisition hardware system is required for use in conjunction with the microelectrode amplifier. a. The data acquisition hardware shall have the following analog input specifications: i. There shall be ≥ 8 analog input channels with an equal number of independent analog-to-digital converters to reduce cross-talk between input channels. ii. Each analog input channel shall independently process analog input signals at a maximum sampling rate of ≥ 500 kHz, with an input noise levels of < 1 mV average peak-to-peak, with a 16-bit resolution, over an input range of ≤ -10 V to ≥ +10V, with a gain value of 1, and with an input resistance of ≥ 1 MΩ. b. The data acquisition hardware shall process 16-bit, TTL compatible digital inputs. c. The data acquisition hardware shall have the following analog output specifications: i. There shall be ≥ 8 analog output channels with an equal number of independent digital-to-analog converters to reduce cross-talk between output channels. ii. Each analog output channel shall independently send command outputs at a maximum sampling rate of ≥ 500 kHz, with a 16-bit resolution, over an output range of ≤ -10 V to ≥ +10V, and with an output impedance of < 0.5 Ω. d. The data acquisition hardware shall have an output current of ± 4 mA. e. The data acquisition system shall have both digital and analog triggering options to ensure flexibility in interfacing with peripheral hardware. 3. HARDWARE CONTROL AND DATA ACQUISITION SOFTWARE. Software is required to support the amplifier and acquisition system through command output, event detection, and online analysis. a. The software shall control ≥ 8 stimulus waveforms. b. The software shall control ≥ 8 digital outputs. c. The software shall include a split-clock feature to allow variation of the sampling rate. d. The software shall perform automatic leak subtraction and save both raw and corrected traces. 4. CONTROL PANEL. A control panel is required for a hardware user interface to control the amplifier. a. The control panel shall replicate all essential amplifier functions by acting as a hardware extension of the amplifier. NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large, foreign, and small businesses. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 334516, as those domestic sources having 500 employees or less. Please include your company's size classification and socio-economic status in any response to this notice. Companies that manufacture patch clamp systems are requested to email a detailed report describing their abilities to christopher.ganey@nist.gov no later than the response date for this sources sought notice. The report should include achievable specifications and any other information relevant to your product or capabilities. Also, the following information is requested to be provided as part of the response to this sources sought notice: 1. Name of the company that manufactures the system components for which specifications are provided. 2. Name of company(ies) that are authorized to sell the system components, their addresses, and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, fax number and email address). 3. Indication of number of days, after receipt of order that is typical for delivery of such systems. 4. Indication of whether each instrument for which specifications are sent to christopher.ganey@nist.gov are currently on one or more GSA Federal Supply Schedule contracts and, if so, the GSA FSS contract number(s). 5. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum specifications and finalizing its market research.
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