Fakta om udbudet
Udbyder
Aarhus Universitet
Vindere
(25.02.2022)
Sartorius Lab Instruments GmbH & Co
Göttingen
Fluorescence Microscope to Aarhus University
Aarhus Universitet
Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Supplies
Section I: Contracting authority/entity
National registration number: 31119103
Postal address: Nordre Ringgade 1
Town: Aarhus C
NUTS code: DK Danmark
Postal code: 8000
Country: Denmark
Contact person: Martin Bolet
E-mail: udbud@au.dk
Telephone: +45 93521783
Internet address(es):
Main address: https://www.au.dk/
Section II: Object
Fluorescence Microscope to Aarhus University
The Department of Biomedicines at Aarhus University wishes to purchase a fluorescence microscope system that can be integrate into a tissue culture incubator. The aim of this research is to visualize with high resolution cells transfected with fluorescent reporter proteins and/or infected with fluorescent viruses over long periods of times (days).
Aarhus
With the purchased system, the aim is to visualize with high resolution cells transfected with fluorescent reporter proteins and/or infected with fluorescent viruses, continuously, over long periods of times (days), while cells are kept growing in plates. This approach allow to study the dynamics change of determined pathways over time in response to a cue, in the presence or the absence of specific genes. The effect of certain virus infections on determined cellular processes over time will be studied as well. In this context, we will also use fluorescent viruses to follow their infection in cells, in the presence or the absence of specific genes.
The above mentioned requirements demand a fluorescence microscope system integrated into a tissue culture incubator with very specific features and capabilities. In particular, easy operation, reproducibility of the experiments due to well-controlled environmental factors, accuracy in imaging the same cells over long periods and safety when handing pathogens, are the most important requirements.
The full list of requirements:
1. An automated image acquisition and analysis system operating and capturing images from within a standard tissue culture incubator so that precise control of temperature, humidity and other environmental factors such as CO2 and O2 can be maintained. This is necessary to provide:
a. Uninterrupted incubation.
b. Auditable and consistent gas/temperature concentrations – tissue culture incubators are designed solely for the purpose of maintaining cells in a consistent gas/temperature/ humidity environment and are a trusted instrument in the cell culture laboratory. The volume of environment being maintained is large in contrast to onboard incubator environments provided by most instruments. Small volumes are difficult to maintain at a consistent, precise gas/temperature/humidity level.
2. Optics are mobile, meaning that the optics move to the areas being imaged. The cell culture vessels remain stationary during this process. Stationary optics and stage driven vessel movement are not acceptable when imaging sensitive or non-adherent cell types.
3. The objectives do not need to be adjusted for any reason.
4. Ability to image cells in ANSI/SLAS standard for assay plates, including 384-well microplates, 96-well microplates, 48-well plates, 24-well plates, 12-well plates, and 6-well plates; and
Imaging in parallel several assay plates/flasks would be a huge advantage.
5. Fully automated, hands-free operation for periods exceeding 25 days, with auto-focus and auto-exposure.
6. The software has to be able to mask, quantify and generate time based curves based on fluorescence metrics from thousands of images, including Fluorescent Count, Fluorescent Average Area, Fluorescent Total Area, Fluorescent Confluence, Fluorescent Mean Intensity, Fluorescent Average Integrated Intensity, Fluorescent Total Integrated Intensity, and Fluorescent Eccentricity.
7. Control via software distributed over a network and the operators can control the automated image acquisition and analysis system from any networked computer, without paying extra licenses.
8. Optical Modules which include high definition phase contrast optics, with at least the following filters: Green (ex441-481nm, em503-544nm) and Red (ex567-607nm, em622-704nm).
9. CMOS detector with low read noise and a linear response to changes in fluorescence.
Section IV: Procedure
- The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
- absence of competition for technical reasons
Many suppliers on the market offer systems that fulfil a portion of the requirements specified above.
One of the solutions in the market is that manually or through a robot, the plates are passes from the tissue culture incubator to a fluorescence microscope at each imaging time point of the experiment. This causes a change in the temperature, humidity and air composition, something that affects the reproducibility of the experiments. Moreover, the plates are not always repositioned exactly at the same place and even very little changes can cause cells going out of the field of imaging, practically making sometime impossible to follow the same cells over a long experiment (days). As a result, not all the collected data are exploitable.
Another solution on the market is having a single plate spot in a specially designed microscope. The problem of this solution is that one a single plate can be imaged and the little chamber in which the plate is inserted, is susceptible to change in temperature, humidity and air composition, especially in long experiments (days).
Sartorius is the only commercial supplier that can deliver a fluorescence microscope, the Incucyte® S3 Live-Cell Analysis System, that can be integrated into a tissue culture incubator, and image directly cells while growing in plates. This solution does not create fluctuation in the temperature, air composition and position. The microscope move, not the plate. In addition, it allows to run 6 different experiments in parallel, without keeping the system used exclusively for one (long) experiment.
Very importantly, numerous experiments will involve the study of virus infections. Keeping the plates with the infected cells in an incubator throughout the entire experiment, eliminates hazardous security concerns connected with the continuous manual or automatic moving around of the plates.
Section V: Award of contract/concession
Town: Göttingen
NUTS code: DE Deutschland
Country: Germany
Section VI: Complementary information
Postal address: Toldboden 2
Town: Viborg
Postal code: 8800
Country: Denmark
E-mail: klfu@naevneneshus.dk
Telephone: +45 72405708
Internet address: https://erhvervsstyrelsen.dk/klagenaevnet-for-udbud
Please contact Aarhus University, if you have a comment about this notice - udbud@au.dk
Following the notification, a standstill period of 10 calendar days will be held in accordance to paragraph 3 of Act No. 593 of 2 June 2016 on the Danish Act on the Complaints Board for public Procurement. This implies that the Contracting Authority cannot sign the Contract with the winning Tenderer before the standstill period has expired.
In case of complaints about tenders or decisions, e.g. award of contracts covered by Section II or III in the Danish Public Procurement Act must be submitted to the Complaints Board for Public Procurement (Klagenævnet for Udbud) within 45 calendar days from the day after the contractor published a notice in the Official Journal on the conclusion of a contract. At the latest concurrently with submission of an appeal to the Complaints Board for Public Procurement, the complainant must inform the Contracting Authority of the alleged infringement, and whether the appeal is to be referred to the board.
Postal address: Carl Jacobsens Vej 35
Town: Valby
Postal code: 2500
Country: Denmark
E-mail: kfst@kfst.dk
Telephone: +45 41715000
Internet address: www.kfst.dk
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