The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NIOSH/HELD/CBMB, 1090 Tusculum Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45226, hereby announces its intent to issue a sole source purchase order in accordance with FAR 6.302-1 to VELP Scientific USA, 40 Burt Drive, Unit #1, Deer Park, NY 11729 for the purchase of a VELP SER 158/6 Automated Solvent Extractor, which will be used for expedient extraction of pesticides and other hazardous contaminants from several solid/semi-solid samples. The process uses organic solvents and increased temperatures to isolate compounds of interest from complex matrices with significantly reduced extraction times. This tool will liberate time for more useful tasks and further experimentation. The automated aspects of the instrument will reduce exposure to chemical hazards as well. The purchase of a VELP SER 158/6 automated solvent extractor is a new purchase and will supplant more traditional methods for solvent extraction, many of which are very time consuming and require significant amounts of hands-on time. In addition to reducing the amount of time needed to process the samples, this instrument will also permit the extraction of 6 samples at any given time, thereby increasing the throughput and streamlining the analysis. Use of an automated extractor will reduce the volume of solvent needed to isolate the desired compounds, which has positive economic and environmental implications. This instrument will directly support a funded project wherein the contents of pesticides and associated degradants will be determined in indoor dust and surface wipe samples. This will allow laboratorians to determine if non-negligible contaminants are present and are contributing to hazardous exposure effects in workplace settings.

The SER 158/6 Automated Solvent Extractor offered by VELP Scientific is the only instrument to our knowledge that offers a combined Randall/Soxhlet methodology for expedited sample extraction. This is achieved through a series of hot solvent extractions of organic materials from a variety of matrices, including dust, wipe samples, soil, etc. With such materials, forced extraction conditions (i.e., high temperatures and pressures) are necessary to effectively isolate the organic compounds of interest. If performed using traditional, fully manual methods, this process can take from several hours to several days. The unique aspect of this instrument compared to competitors is that rather than having to modify the glassware depending on the type of extraction necessary, the VELP SER 158/6 provides a combined extraction protocol that reduces the amount of time needed for complete extraction (on the order of minutes to a few hours). Additionally, a fully automated system such as the SER 158/6 will prevent significant amounts of downtime waiting to initiate each step of the extraction, which are likely to be incurred if using a semi-automated instrument.

Additionally, the sample sizes in this project fall in the range of 500 milligrams and would require an instrument that can accomdate that. The instrument for this project is required to also offer a solution for a Randall-type extraction. The Randall methodology permits isolation of semi- or nonvolatile compounds from complex matrices through the submersion of the material into the boiling solvent without having continued contact with the heating element, which risks scorching the sample and could lead to sample degradation. It is also required that the instrument be an automated system. A system that cannot process samples without human intervention would negates its usefulness as a rapid and automated extraction tool.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1) as cited in FAR 6.302-1, " Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements."

Responsible sources that believe they possess the capabilities identified above are encouraged to submit to the Contracting Officer within 15 days from the posting date of this notice, their written capabilities statement which shall be considered by the agency. Please forward the capability statement to Maria Shamburger, MShamburger@cdc.gov, Contracting Officer, Reference 2024-022124, Centers for Disease Control, Office of Acquisition Services, District at Chamblee, Building #2900, 2900 Woodcock Blvd, MS TCU-4, Atlanta, GA 30341. All vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to an award of a federal contract. The website is: www.sam.gov.

The Government will review any/all capabilities statements information submitted and determine if other qualified sources do exist that could provide this requirement. Information received in response to this announcement will be used solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.

If no affirmative responses are received within 15 days, negotiations will be conducted with VELP Scientific USA as the only source and a purchase order will be issued without any additional notices being posted.