The Office of Acquisition and Agreement Management (OAAM), of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), on behalf of the Material Measurement Laboratory (MML), intends to negotiate on a sole-source basis with Carl Zeiss Microscopy LLC, under the authority of 41 US 3304(a)(1), for an automated inverted optical microscope system and installation services.

The Biomaterials Group of the Material Measurement Laboratory owns a Bruker Bioscope II Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) to quantify cell-materials interaction by measuring kinetics and mechanics of cell adhesion, evaluation of antibacterial activities for dental restorative materials, and the biological performance of dental implant materials. This Bruker Bioscope II was manufactured to integrate with only Carl Zeiss Microscopy (CZM) stage mounts. The group requires an automated inverted optical microscope to fulfill its mission.

Sole source determination is based on the following:
A commercial adapter does not exist so that a non-Carl Zeiss inverted microscope may be integrated with the Bioscope II AFM. Therefore, an entirely new baseplate would be required. The Bioscope II AFM (including baseplate S/N 1100493-2) went end-of-life as of July 2009. Consequently, replacement parts are limited in quantity. Therefore, if any post-market modifications are made to the Bioscope II AFM, the Government is at risk for losing its investment made on the Bioscope II AFM hardware and consumables. Carl Zeiss does not have any authorized distributors capable of providing the required inverted microscope and installation services.

The North American Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334516 - Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing. The small business size standard is 500 employees.

No solicitation package will be issued. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however, responses received by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on August 20, 2015 will be considered by the Government.

A determination by the Government not to compete the proposed acquisition based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.

Bid Protests Not Available