66 -- AUTOMATED PLATE REPLICATION SYSTEM

Notice Date

July 13, 2001

Contracting Office

National Institutes of Health, NIAID, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, MT 59840

ZIP Code

59840

Solicitation Number

RML-RFQ-015

Response Due

July 31, 2001

Point of Contact

Lynda Kieres, Purchasing Agent (406) 363-9210 / Rebecca Guenthner, Contracting Officer (301) 402-2284

E-Mail Address

Click here to contact the Purchasing Agent via e-mail (Lkieres&niaid.nih.gov)

Description

This notice is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This procurement is being issued as a request for quotation. Submit offers on RML-RFQ 015. The solicitation documents and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-26 dated 05/16/2001. This acquisition will be processed under Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP) and is not a Small Business Set-Aside. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334516 and the small business size is 500. SCHEDULE: The Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis (LHBP) has 3 automated DNA sequencers, a 7700 and 7900HT (High Throughput) quantitative PCR machines, a microarrayer and a 384 well Elisa reader. These instruments demand high volume sample preparation. In addition, the science conducted in LHBP involves high sample volume and output. It is critical that LHBP purchase an integrated laboratory automation system that can perform liquid handling and volume transfer in 96 well and 384 well formats to supply the needs of the science being conducted and meet the throughput of these instruments. The instrument must have the following salient characteristics: 1) The ability to transfer 96, 384 and 1536 well samples simultaneously. 2) Independent dual head pipetting with multitasking capabilities. 3) The instrument must be controlled by a single method within the software architecture. 4) The instrument must have increased deck capacity for both plates (a total of 50 or more) and tips. 5) The instrument must have a standard deck configuration of 28 and the ability to stack multiple plates (up to 4) on each deck location. 6) The instrument must be compatible with an existing Pentium-based Windows NT operating system and have "drag and drop" icon programming for the creation of new methods. 7) Any "Method Development Wizards" are highly desirable. 8) The instrument must have the ability to store disposable tips on the work surface and to load them automatically with absolutely no manual involvement beyond initial set-up. Tip loading should be done by a mechanism separate from the positioning motors via an "automatic tip loading station." 9) Pipetting accuracy and precision is essential. The instrument must offer superior pipetting accuracy and speed with a volume range from 0.5 L to 200 L and reproducibility of <5% C.V.; 10) The gripper tool must be integrated into the dispense pod. 11) The instrument must have completely flexible pipetting parameters such as adjustable aspiration and dispense volumes, operations speed, adjustable heights, pre- and post- air gaps, multiple aspirations and dispense in one transfer step, mixing, tip touch and number of cycles. 12) The system must be compatible with a vast assortment of labware, including standard 96, 384, and 1536 flat well, round and v-bottomed microplates, boxed tips, deep well plates, square well plates, and reagent reservoirs. It must also have the capability to define new types of labware specific for new protocols. 13) The instrument should provide a raised deck or "Automated Labware Positioner" permitting expansion of functionality. 14) The system must offer the ability to integrate position stacker carousels with 6 x 18 shelf capacity, substantially expanding plate and tip capacity and increasing "walk away time" for optimal productivity. 15) The instrument must bear UL and CE approval and be ISO 9000 certified. 16) The instrument must operate as an independent workstation and must be adaptable and expandable through modular design. 17) The instrument must utilize a scripting language enabling direct communication for controlling all motor movements. 18) The instrument must be capable of being controlled reusing components of its native software in an environment such as Visual Basic or Visual C++. 19) The workstation must have a six axis ORCA robot controlled by PID algorithms with harmonic drives, relative and absolute encoders for integration and manipulation of samples for cross-platform analyses. 20) The system must have tip washing stations, a plate shaker, a de-lidding station, a bar code reader, a UV plate washer, filtration systems, a circulating reservoir and uninterruptable power supply (UPS). 21) The system must be able to integrate with our existing Spectromax 384. FOB Point shall be Destination, Hamilton, MT. Inside delivery shall be 60 days after receipt of order (ARO). Delivery location is Rocky Mountain Laboratories, 903 S. 4th Street, Hamilton, MT. The following FAR provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition: 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors Commercial; FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation Commercial Items. Award will be based on: 1) The capability of the item offered to meet the above stated salient characteristics; 2) Warranty; and 3) Price; FAR 52-212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Items; FAR 52-212.5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statues or Executive Orders Commercial Items. Offerors must include with their offer a completed copy of the provisions at FAR 52.212-3 Offerors Representations and Certifications Commercial Items. Warranty information to include period and coverage, shall be stated. Offers may be mailed or faxed to the POC indicated above (Fax -- 406-363-9288). Offers must be submitted not later than 4:30 PM (MDST), July 31, 2001. Copies of the above-referenced clauses are available upon request, either by telephone or fax. All responsible sources may submit an offer that will be considered by this Agency.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010717/66SOL009.HTM (W-194 SN50R7G7)