Department of Commerce, Mountain Administrative Support Center, Procurement Division, MC3, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80303-3328

66 -- VG OPTIMA STABLE ISOTOPE MASS SPECTROMETER SOL MGP100600744BJ DUE 062196 POC BJ Roberts, Purchasing Agent, (303) 497-3799 The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) requires two inlet systems for use with a VG Instruments Optima isotope- ratio mass spectrometer, a conventional dual inlet system and a gas chromatography (GC)-combustion interface for continuous flow techniques. Both inlet systems must be fully hardware and software compatible with the VG Optima already in use in a collaborating laboratory at the University of Colorado. The dual inlet must comprise a changeover valve, high compression ratio (20:1) variable-volume bellows, switching valve blocks, and viscous-flow capillaries for both sample and reference sides. Low dead volume is required. The reference bellows must be of large capacity (100 cm3). The sample side must include a fully automatic cold finger of 200 microliter volume or less. The dual inlet must be bakeable to 90 degrees C. The GC-combustion interface must include a temperature-probrammable GC with capillary column, a combustion oven and water trap, and a continuous-flow mass spectrometer interface. The mass spectrometer interface must allow direct reference-gas injection into the carrier gas stream, must be temperature-regulated, and must include an additional changeover valve identical to the changeover valve used in the dual inlet. Interested sources proposing to supply equivalent units must submit a written qualification statement clearly establishing capability to meet the above requirements within 15 days from the date this notice is published. In the absence of other qualifying sources, it is the intent of the Government to award a sole-source contract, under the authority of 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1), to Micromass Inc., 801 Apache Trail, Lake Villa, IL 60046, as this source is considered to be the only responsible source and no other type of supplies will satisfy agency requirements. A RFQ will not be submitted. (0159)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0289 19960610\66-0017.SOL)