Description
The Ecosystems Research Division (ERD) of the National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) requires a research-grade 600 MHz wide-bore nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer to conduct research in the metabolism and transformation of xenobiotics in biological systems and the environment. The spectrometer shall be a product-line instrument and shall not be a prototype nor test model. The NMR spectrometer will be used to measure rates of xenobiotic transformation and identify the resulting products (e.g., metabolites). The results from these studies will be used to develop a computer-based metabolic simulator. The NMR spectrometer is intended to be an ORD-wide resource tool, primarily for the ORD Computational Toxicology Research Program, but will also be utilized in the areas of human health, ecosystem assessment, clean & safe water, safe food, and homeland security. Initial studies will be conducted using hepatic microsomes and S9, which will be dosed with a variety of xenobiotics at various concentrations (e.g., 10 M). The NMR spectrometer shall be both sensitive and versatile enough to provide continuous, accurate xenobiotic transformation rate data on a single sample over a 48 hr period while maintaining a constant temperature of 37oC. Due to the wide range of chemicals, rates of reactivities, concentrations, and expected conjugates, the NMR spectrometer shall be configured to enhance both sensitivity and throughput?especially for the identification of metabolites, some of which may be present at concentrations an order of magnitude less than the parent compound. Towards that end, the NMR spectrometer shall be interfaced with a liquid chromatograph to separate the xenobiotic and its metabolites and the NMR spectrometer shall be constructed such that it can easily be interfaced with a mass spectrometer. The NMR spectrometer shall be designed to allow for easy sample recovery. The spectrometer system shall be fully computer automated with complete spectral acquisition and analysis software. As part of the evaluation process, vendors will be requested to analyze a series of samples and will be expected to not only demonstrate the standard and cryogenic probes specified in the statement of work, but also provide clear and concise recommendations for probes which may be more appropriate, but were not specified. In addition to identifying xenobiotic metabolites, the NMR spectrometer will also be used for metabonomic studies to measure endogenous metabolites in biofluids, tissues, and other biological matrices. The instrument should be configured to conduct metabonomic studies and analyze the resulting data. This requirement will be processed in accordance with FAR Part 12, "Acquisition of Commercial Items". This is an unrestricted solicitation. All requests for the solicitation must be submited via e-mail. The solicitation will be available electronically only.