Centrifugal rotary design PCR cyclers

The Agency has a requirement to purchase in the next 5 years up to three real time (or HMR) centrifugal rotary design PCR cyclers.

Potential suppliers if they feel they can meet the requirement below should email Nawaz.habib@nibsc.org to register an interest.

If no submissions of potential interest are received it is then intended to perform a direct award without competition to the sole supplier we believe can deliver this requirement.

An over view of the requirement is:

Thermal block based PCR platforms will not be considered. Each tube must be spun in a chamber of moving air, to keep all samples at each step of the cycling program at exactly the same temperature (temperature variation < 0.02°C) eliminating the need for a ROX dye reference. Optical detection of equal precision is required as each sample rotates past the excitation and detection optics eliminating variation compared with thermal block based PCR platforms. The excitation source LEDs are to be provided with a life-long guarantee, negating the need for optical alignment, calibration, or lamp replacement. Interchangeable rotors to enable analysis in different sample volumes and tube formats. With up to 6 channels spanning UV to infrared wavelengths suitable for multiplex applications. In addition, the software must allow for the creation of new excitation and detection wavelength combinations, so it is compatible with dyes that may be used in the future. Experimental data security must be assured and process steps traceable from starting the run to exporting the results for analysis.