Supply and Install of Two Cryostats and a Laser Capture Microdissection System

Suppliers can find the complete tender document(s), at no cost, on: https://uwo.bonfirehub.ca.

Procuring Entity:
University of Western Ontario (Western)
Procurement Services
1151 Richmond Street
London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7

Contact:
Scott Roth sroth6@uwo.ca         

Procurement Method:
Open tender whereby all interested Suppliers may submit a Proposal.

Description:
The RFP is an invitation to submit offers for the Supply and Install of Two Cryostats and a Laser Capture Microdissection System, as further described herein.
Two Tissue Cryostats are requested for use of sectioning biological samples (brain, bone, organoids, etc…) from both human and non-human sources. The cryostats will allow preparation of frozen tissue specimens for biological, medical, and industrial applications, and is necessary for producing high quality tissue sections for studies utilizing mass spectrometry imaging (MSI), immunohistochemistry, histochemistry, and immunofluorescence. Two cryostats with the same capabilities that are specified below are requested for use at the University of Western Ontario. One will be used strictly for sample preparation in the Mass Spectrometry Imaging Suite for mass spectrometry imaging to avoid cross-contamination with non-MSI tissues mounted in traditional mounting medium (which suppresses mass spectrometry signals) typically used for histological/immunofluorescent staining. The second cryostat will be housed at the Digital Histopathology Suite for sectioning of specimens that will be used in the comprehensive biomarker discovery platform using traditional histopathology equipment and infrastructure aimed to build spatially derived digital databases that, with image co-registration, can integrate with MSI acquired datasets.
A Laser Capture Microdissection System (LMD/LCM) is being requested for the isolation of regions of interest (ROIs) from mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) data sets. The LMD system will be housed in the MSI Suite at Western University to allow for isolation of regions of interest following MSI for deep biomarker discovery, validation, and quantification via high resolution molecular analysis via electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS).
Western’s preference is to have a single solution; however, it may be necessary to implement multiple products and therefore the proponent(s) response(s) do not need to cover all platforms as Western may select multiple solutions to cover all of its needs.
Refer to the RFP document for further details.
Budget:
The estimated total pre-tax budget is CAD$630,000 plus HST.
Estimated Quantities:
Available within the tender document

Submission Details:
All tender submissions must be uploaded electronically at https://uwo.bonfirehub.ca

Submission Deadline:
June 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM ET

Public Opening:
Not Applicable

Conditions for Participation:
Available within the tender document(s)

Mandatory Submission Requirements:
 

1. Appendix B- Submission Form
2. Appendix C- Rate Bid Form
3. Appendix D- Reference Form
4. Appendix E- Deliverables and Technical Requirements Questionnaire
5. Appendix F- Western’s Commitment to Sustainability in Procurement and Supporting Documents
6. Appendix G- Proponents Checklist

Complete submission requirements are provided within the tender document(s).


Scored Submission Requirements:
 

1. Mandatory Requirements
2. Experience, Qualifications and References
3. Technical Requirements
4. Service and Support
5. Sustainability
6. Value- Added Ideas
7. Accessibility (AODA)
8. Pricing
9. In-kind

This procurement is covered by Chapter 5 of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA).
This procurement is covered by Chapter 19 of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA)

Delivery Date:
December 2026

Duration of Agreement:
Upon receipt of equipment and satisfaction of obligations as set out in the Agreement.

Additional Options:
Available in the tender document(s)

Negotiation:
At the end of the evaluation process, Western may identify one or more Suppliers with whom it wishes to enter into negotiations, by written notification.  See tender document(s) for further detail.

Prequalification:
Not Applicable

Responses must be submitted in English.

Suppliers should note that information contained within this Tender Notice is subject to change.  Suppliers are encouraged to download the tender document(s) which contain the most current information.
 
If there is a conflict between the tender document(s) and this Tender Notice, the tender document(s) will take precedence.
 

Bidding and Documents are available on http://www.merx.com. Fees may apply; See https://www.merx.com/public/pricing for more information.