Semi-Automated Research Scale Tangential Flow Filtration (TFF) System

This is a Sources Sought Notice ONLY. Requests for copies of a solicitation will not receive a response. This Notice is to assist the government in determining if there are any domestic manufactured end product sources for the project title. This is not a Request for Proposal or Request for Quotation or an obligation on the part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for conducting a follow-on acquisition.

NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large and small businesses. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334516- Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing with a small business size standard of 1000 employees. Please include your company's size classification and socio-economic status in any response to this notice.

The Biomolecular Structure and Function (BSF) group in the Biomolecular Measurement Division of the Materials Measurement Laboratory at the national Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) (1) advances novel measurement methods and models for the determination and analysis of the structure and function of biological macromolecules, including lipids, DNA, RNA, and proteins and macromolecular complexes and assemblies formed by these molecules; (2) advances methods to determine the physical and chemical factors which determine the specific interactions of macromolecules with cofactors and ligands; (3) studies the relationships between biomolecule structure, dynamics, function, and energetics using computational, biophysical and biochemical techniques; (4) develops reference databases for these properties; and (5) advances measurement methods for engineering complex biological systems.

In support of this mission, the BSF group is establishing a biomanufacturing testbed for representative processes used during the production of therapeutic proteins. To support this work, the group requires capabilities to perform tangential flow microfiltration, ultrafiltration and diafiltration for protein production and process development at research scale. It is anticipated that a semi-automated benchtop scale tangential flow filtration (TFF) system will meet this need.

Interested parties shall describe the capabilities of their organization as it relates to the draft Statement of Requirement.

After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a contract. Companies that can provide such items are requested to email a written response describing their abilities to Sadaf.Afkhami@nist.gov no later than the response date for this sources sought notice.

The following information is requested to be provided as part of the response to this sources sought notice:

1. Name, Address, Government Unique Identifier number, CAGE code, and point of contact information of your company.
2. Any information on the company's small business certifications, if applicable.
3. Description of your company's capabilities as they relate to the item described in this notice.
4. A description of your company's previous experience providing the item described in this notice.
5. Indication of whether the item described in this notice are currently offered via your company's GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts, Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs), or other existing Government-wide contract vehicles; and, if so, the contract number(s) for those vehicles.
6. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in finalizing its market research.
7. Place of Manufacture: Is more than 50% of item manufactured domestically, if not where is it manufactured?

Responses are limited to a total of twelve (12) pages. The responses must be in MS Word format. Pages shall be 81 2-inch x 11-inch, using Times New Roman 11 Point Font. Each page shall have adequate margins on each side (at least one inch) of the page. Header/footer information (which does not include any information to be analyzed) may be included in the 1" margin space.