NAICS Code: 541990 The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with Dr. Michael Delp of College Station, TX 77845, for determination of total cardiac and regional blood perfusion in young, adult and aged male Long Evans rats. Dr. Delp is the only known source that has integrated all of the necessary techniques to obtain and measureall of the necessary physiological parameters to develop the physiologicaly-basedl models. Having one source for all the necessary parameters eliminates the introduction of additional variables that might confound comparisons across organs within the same rat. This becomes important not only for cross organ comparisons but for the comparisons across age. Additionally, removing the cross laboratory confounding variable increases our ability to compare the results across different strains/stocks of rats. While this contract is to measure volumes, flows and cardiac output in Long Evans rats, we intend that this data will be used to make comparisons of these measurements in F-344 and Sprague-Dawley rats that were made in the laboratory of Dr. Delp. Objective: The objective of this project is development of a data set of accurate measurements of cardiac output and fractional tissue perfusion rates in male Long Evans rats. Measurements are desired in: 1) Adult, Ad libitum-fed Long Evans rats as they are used to examine the effects of airborne toxicants on pattern-elicited visual-evoked potentials and to assess other measures of neurotoxicity. 2) Ad libitum-fed rats younger than those used for objective 1) (to be called young for the purposes of this document) and ad libitum-fed rats older than those used for objective 1) (to be called aged for the purposes of this document), so that the influence of age on cardiac output and fractional blood flow can be determined. These data will prove useful in examining toxicants in sensitive subpopulations, an emerging priority research area expected to increase in importance in coming years. Obtaining these values at the same time as the adult values is cost-effective and increases our ability to make age-related comparisons. The blood flow parameters will be collected in awake, non-restrained animals by the microsphere technique (Delp et al., 1991; Delp et al, 1998). Awake, non-restrained animals must be used as total cardiac output and organ perfusion rates are influenced both by restraint and by anesthesia. Specifically, the parameters of interest include the volume of and blood flow to the organs of the body specified below and total cardiac output. The rats in each treatment group will be surgically implanted with catheters for the infusion of radiolabeled microspheres needed for the measurement of blood flow. The following organs will be included in the analysis: skeletal and myocardial muscles, brain, splanchic, hepatic, reproductive and skeletal systems, fat, skin, kidneys and total contributions from all organs. Scope of Work: THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PERFORM THE FOLLOWING TASKS: TASK 1: The contractor shall perform the necessary surgical and experimental procedures needed to determine total cardiac output and regional blood flows for each age group. TASK 2: The contractor shall obtain the radiolabeled microspheres (46Sc, 85Sr, 113Sn or 95Nb) needed for the blood flow measurements as well as the equipment and other materials needed for the determinations. The U.S. EPA shall supply the animals needed to do the determinations. TASK 3: The contractor shall determine the concentration of radiolabeled microspheres needed for the determinations. These values could be available in the literature. TASK 4: The contractor shall conduct measurements on approximately 8-12 animals per period. Approximately equal numbers (within one) of animals shall be done from each age group per year, dependent on the availability from the supplier of the young and old rats. If rats of the appropriate age are available, a minimum of 2 rats shall be done from each age group per year. At the end of the 3 twelve month project periods, there will be a minimum of 8 rats/age group and a maximum of 12 rats/age group. TASK 5: The contractor shall provide interim reports at the end of each 12 month period that include summary statistics as well as individual animal data for the animals in which measurements were made during that period. The report for the first, second and third periods shall include, for the year covered, summary statistics (mean, standard deviation, n) as well as the individual animal data from which the summary statistics were collected. The report for the third period shall additionally include summary statistics for all the animals of each age group that were measured over the course of the project and an appendix including the entire individual animal data set. Contractor Requirements: The contractor shall perform measurements, within each 12 month period, on the number of animals specified per year. The contractor shall prepare and maintain any equipment and materials that are required for the measurement of total cardiac output and regional organ perfusion. The contractor shall prepare annual reports summarizing the work completed during that year and a final report summarizing the complete project. All interested parties who believe they can provide the required services should fully explain their capabilities in writing within 15 days of the date of this announcement. No Solicitation is available. The intent of this synopsis is to determine if any additional source (s) exist and, therefore, no Request for Proposal (RFP) is available. Consequently, any response (s) failing to provide the aforementioned data but instead choosing to merely submit a routine letter requesting a copy of the RFP will be ignored. Submit response no later than 25 September 2002 to the U.S. EPA, Attn: Joy Kimble (MC-E105-02), RTP-POD (D143-01), Research Triangle Park, NC 27711. No telephonic or faxed requests will be honored. Technical questions may be submitted via email to
[email protected].