UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO - NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SINGLE SOURCE CONTRACT: 19-087
Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis System
The University of Waterloo (UW) intends to award a single source contract to Malvern Panalytical of St. Laurent, Quebec, Canada, for the purchase of a nanoparticle tracking analysis system for research purposes (the ‘NanoSight NS300’). The budget for this entire package is approximately $130,000 CAD, not including tax/HST.
This is an Advanced Notice indicating to the supplier community that UW intends to award a contract for this equipment to a pre-identified supplier. If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date of this notice, a statement of specifications that satisfies the stated requirements set out in this Notice, the competitive requirements of the University are considered to have been met. Following notification to any suppliers not successful in demonstrating that their statement of specifications meets the requirements set out in this Notice, the contract may then be awarded to the pre-identified supplier.
If other potential suppliers submit statements of specifications during the fifteen calendar day posting period, and meet the requirements set out in this Notice, UW will proceed to a Request for Proposal process, in order to award the contract.
Process - Suppliers who can provide equivalent equipment with proven functionality required for the research, within budget, are encouraged to submit a statement of specifications, in writing, to the contact person identified in this Notice on or before the closing date of this Notice. The statement of specifications must unequivocally demonstrate how the supplier meets these advertised requirements within budget.
SPECIFICATIONS –
The NS300 instrument uses a laser light source to illuminate individual nano-scale particles (instrument detection range: 10-2000 nm) within a 0.3 ml sample introduced to the viewing unit with a disposable syringe. Enhanced by a near perfect black background, particles appear individually as point-scatterers moving under Brownian motion:
NanoSight NS300 package includes:
- High sensitivity scientific CMOS camera
- NS300 532nm Green Laser Module
- Syringe Pump with installation kit
- Computer controlled motorised filter wheel with 565nm Flourescence filter wheel insert
- Computer with monitor, and NTA Software activation
- 532nm Fluorescence kit
- 642nm Red Laser Module
- 2 laser system kit
SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION
Existing technology in this field uses a method called ‘Dynamic Light Scattering’ (DLS). The University of Waterloo requires the Nanosight NS300 which uses a method called “Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis” (NTA) to allow us to evaluate microbicide technology platforms in vitro and in vivo by providing important information that will affect biocompatibility and therapeutic efficacy of microbicides. The NTA will be used to provide high-resolution results related to particle size, concentration, protein aggregation and viscosity. In comparison to DLS, NTA is more sensitive for measuring polydisperse samples and can provide significantly higher size resolution. For example, NTA analyzes each individual particle, allowing the user to differentiate populations of various sizes with a size ratio of 1:1.33 (e.g. 100 nm particles can be differentiated from 200 nm particles). DLS has a lot lower resolution of 1:4 (e.g. 100 nm particles can be differentiated from 400 nm particles).
The University of Waterloo is unaware of any other supplier/manufacturer that can provide this technology, within budget.
Date of issue: August 14, 2019
Closing Date: August 29, 2019 at 2:30 p.m. EST
Contact:
Christine Wagner, CPPB, CSCP – Research Coordinator and Senior Buyer
Procurement and Contract Services
University of Waterloo
Ph: 519-888-4567 ext. 32074
Email – cpwagner@uwaterloo.ca, or, procure@uwaterloo.ca
