Multi-Sample UV-Vis Spectrophotometer for DNA Quantification and Quality Assessment

Procurement Summary

The solicitation # 12505B24Q0059 (RFQ1674522) was posted on 01/22/2024 to GSA eBuy with a quote submission deadline of 11:59 PM CT on 02/05/2024. A single quote was received for a product not listed on the vendor's FSS and FAR 8.402(f) did not apply. As such, the solicitation had to be moved to SAM.gov. The solicitation # 12505B24Q0073 was posted on 02/12/2024 to SAM.gov as a total small business set aside with a quote submission deadline of 11:59 PM CT on 02/26/2024. A total of six quotes were received. Two quotes were for American made products and four were for foreign made products. The American made products were reviewed and found not to be technically acceptable. The Ultrospec 7500 quoted by Aantilia LLC was found not technically acceptable due to its failure to meet the following technical requirements stipulated in the SOW: • The 8-cuvette holder does not provide multi-sample analysis, but rather automated single sample analysis. This is absolutely unacceptable. • The 8-cell cuvette holder does not meet the “Easy, rapid sample loading and clearing (maximum time between readings: 30 s).” Simultaneous readings of 8 samples should occur every 30 s. • < 2 uL samples are only achievable by purchasing additional equipment/consumables. • The instrument does not automatically compensate for path length. The Agilent Life Sciences EPOCH-SN and TAKE3-SN quoted by Technical Communities, Inc. (TestMart) was found not technically acceptable due to its failure to meet the following technical requirements stipulated in the SOW: • Software does not include adequate contaminant assessment and correction: “Software: … Include accurate, full-spectrum contaminant assessment and correction” o According to the company’s application note for purity assessment (Microvolume Purity Assessment of Nucleic Acids Using A260/A280 Ratio and Spectral Scanning (agilent.com)): “Spectral analysis of samples can be compared to spectra of known standards for comparison by a trained eye.” This is not acceptable, as the software itself does not handle the assessment and correction. • Concentration range for dsDNA is not provided/assured by the provider. “Concentration range: 2 – 10,000 ng/μL dsDNA” o The company’s application note for dsDNA microvolume quantification (Low Volume Nucleic Acid Quantification using a Multi-Volume Spectrophotometer System (agilent.com)) does not clearly demonstrate the accuracy of low-concentration (< 1000 ng/uL) dsDNA quantification. • Also, this instrument requires a laptop, which is not included in the quote. “Hardware: Instrument must be stand-alone or laptop must be included.” In an effort to find American made products from large businesses, an amendment was made to solicitation # 12505B24Q0073 making it unrestricted and extending the quote submission deadline to 03/11/2024. No new vendors submitted a quote. One of the vendors quoted a different product which was noted as being foreign made (prior quoted item was American made). Upon review the lowest priced technically acceptable quote received was for a foreign made product.

Yes

No