Multifunctional long working distance stereo zoom microscope

Sources Sought Notice NIST-MML-22-SS04

Title:  Multifunctional long working distance stereo zoom microscope

This is a Sources Sought Notice ONLY.  Requests for copies of a solicitation will not receive a response. 

This Notice is for planning purposes only and 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 does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this Notice, or otherwise pay for the information requested.  No entitlement or payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by NIST will arise as a result of submission of responses to this Notice and NIST use of such information.  NIST recognizes that proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary data and present it as an addendum to the non-restricted/non-proprietary information.  In the absence of such identification, NIST will assume to have unlimited rights to all technical data in the information paper.

NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS EXIST AT THIS TIME.

Requirement:

NIST is seeking information from vendors capable of providing a multifunctional long working distance stereo zoom microscope for particle manipulation.

Provide information regarding the following capabilities

1. Both macroscopic and microscopic motorized high resolution imaging capabilities.
2. Transmitted brightfield illumination with oblique lighting control, reflected oblique brightfield illumination, reflected coaxial illumination, and EPI-fluorescence illumination.
3. Motorized EPI-fluorescence attachment that ensures bright and uniform illumination even at low magnifications and shall be capable of mounting four filter cubes simultaneously.
4. Filter cubes for brightfield and fluorescence imaging modes.
5. Motorized focus and zoom operation, capable of achieving a dynamic zoom ratio of 25:1 or better and automatic adjust the zoom factor when switching objective lenses to maintain the same field of view between imaging at low magnifications and at high magnifications.
6. Slim base of 35 mm in thickness or less for ergonomic reasons and optimal particle manipulation. Integrated LED transmitted illumination capable of providing and controlling oblique transmitted illumination for better contrast of translucent and transparent samples.
7. Remote controller, designed for either right- and left-hand use, ability to control and display information regarding the zoom factor, focus, filter cube, aperture diaphragm, and LED transmitted light brightness.
8. Footswitch to operate the microscope’s zoom and focus as well as a foot switch to capture digital images by foot during particle manipulation.
9. Interface for integrating all microscope hardware, controls, and motorized components with a PC and/or remote controller. Digital image acquisition software capable of doing multiple imaging, processing and analysis including z-stack capture, time-lapse imaging, and the generation of extended depth of focus (EDF) images.
10. High-definition, high-speed, and high-sensitivity C-mount color microscope camera capable of digital imaging in brightfield and fluorescence observation.
11. Tilting trinocular for good ergonomics (100:0 / 0:100 positions) with a C-mount camera port.
12. Manual and motorized parts included in the microscope interchangeably and compatible with each other.
13. Wide eyepieces, one set with 10x magnification and no less than 22 mm field of view and the other set with 15x magnification and no less than 16 mm field of view.
14. Objective lenses that are appropriate for regular transmitted, brightfield, dark field, and fluorescence light. 
15. Nosepiece capable of attaching a minimum of two objective lenses at a time.
16. Apochromatic correction to eliminate any color aberrations.
17. Solid-state light source
18. Reflected oblique illumination setup with flexible fiber optic bundle
19. Calibration
20. Installation
21. Support: turn-around time for problem inquiries by telephone or e-mail.

Interested parties shall describe the capabilities of their organization as it relates to the requirement described above.  NIST anticipates issuing a Request for Quotation in the second quarter of FY2022 and awarding a contract no later than the third quarter of FY2022.

NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large and small businesses. The small business size standard associated with the NAICS code for this effort, 334516, is 1000 employees. Please include your company’s size classification and socio-economic status in any response to this notice. 

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 requirements are requested to email a written response describing their abilities to donald.graham@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, DUNS 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 requirements described in this notice.
4. A description of your company’s previous experience providing the requirements described in this notice.
5. Indication of whether the requirement 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 published pricing.
7. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in finalizing its market research.

Responses are limited to a total of twelve (12) pages. The responses must be in MS Word format.  Pages shall be 8½-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.