This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations.
The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources, (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses, service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible.

This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. The notice is strictly for research and information purposes only.
The information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a small business social-economic set-aside, competitive or non-competitive method is possible, and to determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government's requirement.
ALL organizations with the capability and availability to perform the requirement under the applicable NAICS code are invited to submit a response to this notice.

NORTH AMERICAN CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE
334516 Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing

Background
Mission one for the chemistry team is the optimization chemistry on "clinical candidates" as mentioned above obtained extramurally or through continuation of roadmap projects. In order to successfully accomplish this mission, the chemistry team must be capable of the fast and efficient synthesis and purification of small molecules. Synthetic organic chemistry can be broken down into three main processes. First - the combination of chemical reagents in a fashion that predictive reactions occur and novel chemical matter is created. These reactions are done in step-wise fashion ultimately producing compounds of biochemical interest and use. The second aspect of synthetic chemistry is the purification of the products you want. This is an essential component, as unwanted byproducts poison reactions and complicate biological appreciation. The third aspect is the characterization of these constructs to assure that a scientist has made what he/she predicted would be made. Each of these steps requires its own unique infrastructure, equipment and skills. If any aspect of this progression is defunct, the entirety of the process is compromised. Thus, numerous state of the art instrumentation are a necessity for the NCATS chemistry team to accomplish its mission. The purpose of this acquisition is to purchase an MultiTasker System.

The System must include all of the follow:

Primary Functions of the Automated WorkStation -
• User Programmable ‘Pick & Place' Automation of 16x100 tubes, 1dram (4mL) vials, consolidation vials, 20mL LS vials, minitubes and aliquotting of reconstituted samples into microtiter plates.
• Positive BarCode Identification of 1dram (4mL) vials.
• 2D Barcode ID of minitubes.(based on adapted FluidX® Scanner)
• GP LabContainer Weighing. (EZ-Swap® Fingers/Racks/Balance Nest)
• GP Liquid Handling with ‘SlurrySafe®' Fluidics and optional Gravimetric Confirmation.
• Barcode Scanner for Rack ID.
• SiriusSlate®PDA version 3.0 or higher - ‘MySQL' Relational DB Capable

Primary Components of the Automated WorkStation -

• XYZ Robotic Chassis fitted with 10mL ‘LiquiBox® 6 way Valve and Syringe Drive' plus digital I/O and serial interfaces, plus Transport Arm, with retractable liquid handling SlurrySafe ® Cannula. Also Gripper Mechanism with Interchangeable Fingers and Gripper Finger Sets for 5 labware types. Upgraded high volume (nominally 9.5mL) Transfer Loop Line & Spare Kit.
• 4-place Mettler-Toledo® WXS Analytical Balance with motorized draft shield and Balance Nest for 1dram (4mL) vial, 16x100 tube, minitube, 20mL LS vial and 8mL (consolidation) vials.a
• Vortex with nest(s) for 16x100 tubes, 8mL (consolidation) vials and 1dram (4mL) vials.
• Three (3) Locator Plates for sets of four (4) Microtiterplate footprint racks.
• 1D BarCode Reader with nest for 1dram (4mL) vials (contiguous ladder), plus nest for 20mL LS vials.
• One copy of SiriusSlate PDA (Extended) Custom Edition to provide user control of multimethod functions involving weighing, mixing, liquid handling, bar code ID, etc..
• RoboShield® Custom Enclosure, Lexan Panels & Aluminum Frame.
• Onstation Reagent Reservoir, & Parts Case, Vacuum Flask/Waste System & Tubing.
• Installation, Integration & Training. See below for details.
• PC Controller (Win7) with 21" CD Color Display, Networkable.
• 2D BarCode Reader - single tube type (FluidX type or functional equivalent)
• Handheld BarCode Reader for ‘wanding' Rack ID's into SSPDA Software.
• Software will be "My SQL®" db friendly.
• NIH/NCATS ‘SMART' Software Systems Compliant

CAPABILITY STATEMENT /INFORMATION SOUGHT
Respondents must provide, as part of their responses, clear and convincing documentation of their capability of providing the item(s) specified in this notice. Contractors that believe they possess the ability to provide the required must submit specific documentation of their ability to meet each of the project requirements to the Contract Specialist. Contractors must provide their Company Name, DUNS number, Physical Address, and Point of Contact Information.
Interested organizations are required to identify their type of business, applicable North American Industry Classification System Code, and size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number.

All capability statements sent in response to this Sources Sought Notice must be submitted electronically (via email) to Farrin Stanton, Contract Specialist, at [email protected] in MS Word format by or before the closing date of this announcement. All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered.

The response must be received on or before August 14, 2014 12pm Eastern Standard Time.

CONCLUDING STATEMENTS
Note:
This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in the response. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After review of the responses received, pre-solicitation and solicitation notices may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. The solicitation release date is pending. The Government intends to negotiate a fixed-price purchase order.

Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

Bid Protests Not Available