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PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE **NOTICE OF INTENT

NOI-NIAID-23-2178667

NAICS – 334516

This is a Notice of Intent, not a request for proposal. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) intends to negotiate on an other than full and open competition basis with Agilent Technologies Inc to purchase upgrade equipment for an existing Agilent BioTek Cytation 7 Cell Imaging Multimode Reader Microscope system to perform the required plate reading and cell imaging experiments.

The Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases (LPD) Molecular Parasitology Section (MPS) is requesting the purchase of upgrade equipment for Agilent BioTek’s Cytation 7 system to perform the required plate reading and cell imaging experiments. The Cytation 7 base system (CYT7UM-SN) is a proprietary system, and the only one of its kind to combine the plate reader with an upright microscope functionality. The upgrade equipment must match with the current Cytation 7 equipment purchased in 2022 and therefore must be purchased from Agilent Technologies Inc. This combined functionality has created a significant enhancement over current technologies making this equipment a true multi-use staple for many of the MPS’ experiments. As the technology of the Cytation 7 is proprietary, Agilent Technologies is the sole source provider. The advanced proprietary technology of Agilent BioTek’s Cytation 7 Cell Imaging Multi-mode Reader system is the only system with the combined plate reader and cell imaging functionality that are required for the experiments completed by the staff of the LPD/MPS. The lab currently has the Cytation 7 multi-mode reader system with limited imaging functionality. The current request would upgrade this specific instrument to include a microscope, objective, fluorescence and filter cubes, and laser autofocus cube, and the genspot and autoROI software upgrades, high throughput fluorescent imaging, automated histology imaging, and image analysis capabilities. These projects will support the findings from years of research and provide new methods for continued research within MPS.

The statutory authority for this sole source requirement is 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2) as implemented by FAR 13.106-1 only one responsible source and no other supply of service will satisfy agency requirements. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. All responsible sources that could provide comparable services may submit a capability statement that will be considered by email (subject line to reference NOI-NIAID-23-2178667) to Dana Monroe at dana.monroe@nih.gov by 5:00 pm eastern time Monday, June 19, 2023. All responses received by the closing date of this synopsis will be considered by the Government. A determination not to compete this requirement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government.