Opportunity: Purchase Zebrafish Behavior Monitoring Systems

NOTICE OF INTENT FOR SOLE SOURCE The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in Research Triangle Park, NC, intends to award a sole source purchase order under authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures to Viewpoint Life Sciences to purchase two each Zebrafish behavior monitoring systems. EPA's laboratory uses zebrafish to evaluate developmental neurotoxic effects of various chemicals by measuring locomotor responses (i.e. behavior responses). To analyze the behavior of larval zebrafish, a system consisting of an enclosure which houses the test animals, an infrared sensitive video camera and a light source (both white light and infrared) is needed. This enclosure protects the fish from any extraneous conditions that could be a confounding factor during behavior testing, such as noise, vibrations or temperature fluctuations. A computer with specialized software controls the operation of the camera and the chosen light levels, records a video and tracks the movements of the zebrafish larvae in a microtiter plate. The software can follow the movement of all 96 larvae simultaneously and then calculate various endpoints and export them in an Excel format. The justification for procurement of the above components from Viewpoint Life Sciences is based on the following factors: 1) System must be easily scalable: up to 4 testing enclosures/boxes can be used in parallel employing only one computer and one software license. 2) The testing enclosure/box must: a) Have a lighting system that is heat free and does not require water flow to cool down the system. The circulation of a cooling liquid around the microplate reduces image sharpness and thus reduces accuracy when tracking the movement of each larvae. Also, the cooling liquid causes condensation on the camera lens and is difficult to work with (drips of liquid on top of the microplate distorts the image and causes a loss of data). A Temperature Control Unit, if required, costs an additional ~$6000 and results in a larger footprint in EPA's very limited space used for behavior testing. Veiwpoint Zebrabox does not require one. b) Have a vertical sliding door with multiple positions to allow access to the microplate from the front and side; allows for dosing of larval zebrafish that are already positioned for testing, to eliminate disruption caused by moving the plate. The Viewpoint Zebrabox allows access from both front and sides. c) Have a high resolution optical system consisting of aerospace grade mirrors which allows full access to plate from above, found exclusively in the Viewpoint Zebrabox. The Viewpoint Zebrabox allows full access to the plate at all times. d) Have a double anti-vibration system to eliminate external vibrations that can alter fish behavior. e) Must be compatible with a shaker/vibration module which actually vibrates the plate, not tap the plate. Viewpoint's system uses a true vibration action. f) Must be compatible with kit for measuring visual motor response. 3) The software must: a) Perform simultaneous analysis of up to 96 animals. b) Allow replay of the raw data with a different protocol. c) Calculate locomotor endpoints to include: distance traveled, position and trajectory, time spent in area, entry count in each area, counting of various states (very small movement, small movement, ambulatory movement), duration in each state, transition count of states, distance moved in each state, full path of fish, replay of data in case of protocol change. d) Produce output that is Office compatible. 4) Visual Motor response kit with Vibration module must: a) Provide light levels ranging from 0 to 8000 lux. b) Utilize an infrared high sensitivity camera with frame rate up to 60 fps (frames per second) and image definition up to 1024*768, with optical infrared filter. c) Provide sharp picture quality and full view of microtiter plate d) Shake the microplate with a frequency range of 20 to 20,000 Hz and 40 W amplifier. e) Utilize a software module to program vibrations: vibration modulation control and sequences, vibration time, duration and frequency. The Viewpoint system produces clear images. The Viewpoint vibration module allows for a wide range of settings. Only the Viewpoint Zebrabox Revolution meets the above stated requirements. The circumstance permitting is FAR 13.106-1(b) "Soliciting from a single source". All interested parties who believe they can provide the required services should fully explain their capabilities and qualifications in writing within 10 days from the date of this announcement and provide itemized pricing that is sufficient to make a determination that competition is feasible. The intent of this notice is to determine if any other source(s) exist, and therefore, no solicitation is available. Consequently, anyone failing to provide the aforementioned and instead chooses to merely submit a routine letter requesting a copy of the statement of work or more information about the project will be ignored. The information received to this notice will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct a competitive procurement. Please submit response ONLY to Sammie Jones at jones.sammie@epa.gov. No telephone or faxed requests will be honored.