High Pressure Freezing system

1. Statement of Requirements
   1. The University of Ottawa is pleased to invite qualified parties to submit a proposal for the acquisition of a system to conduct high-pressure freezing of mouse liver biopsies. This system is to be used to support research activities in life sciences that require the use of electron microscopy and electron tomography analysis

1. 1. 2. The University is seeking a system able to transform the water present in animal and plant tissues/cells into ''vitreous ice'' while preventing the formation of any detectable water crystals (ice). To this end, the temperature of a sample must be lowered from room temperature to liquid nitrogen temperature in less than 10 milliseconds by plunging it into liquid nitrogen at high pressures (>2050 bar)
2. 1. 3. Specifications listed in Appendix A – Technical Specifications Compliance Form of this RFP are the mandatory minimum requirements for the High-pressure freezing system of mouse liver biopsies for electron microscopy analysis of subcellular structures.
      4. Should any equipment included in a proposal be superseded by a newer model during the period between the award of contract and the delivery date, the successful Proponent will be required to inform the University of Ottawa of the new specifications, the newer model pricing will remain the same as what was offered in the RFP. At its sole discretion, the University of Ottawa may opt to make changes from the list of equipment by altering, adding, or deducting some equipment.

1. 1. - General Description of Instrument, System or Service
      1. The University is seeking a system to collect and vitrify mouse liver biopsies (LB). Here, each LB must have a minimum diameter of 0.5 mm and a maximum diameter of 2 mm; a minimum length of 1 mm and a maximum length of 3 mm. Their vitrification process must be such that the subcellular structure of their hepatocytes is well preserved and suitable for studying inter-organelle contact sites by quantitative and volumetric EM analysis. More specifically, the system will be used to characterize changes in mitochondria-ER contact distance at the nanometer scale by quantitative EM analysis and to visualize mitochondria cristae folding and architecture by serial-section electron tomography studies (e.g. PMID 33730569  pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33730569).
      2. The system must include everything needed to collect and vitrify a minimum of 100 biopsies from mouse livers. Consequently, in addition to the high-pressure freezer apparatus (HPF), the proposers must provide every necessary tool(s), instrument(s), accessory(s), power supply/transformer(s), and application kit(s) to properly collect and vitrify all these 100 biopsies. The HPF apparatus should have the possibility to be upgraded for 1) light stimulation mode for correlative light microscopy studies; 2) electrical stimulation mode for electrophysiology studies).
      3. The high-pressure freezing system will be chosen based on its suitability to be "ready-to-use," and that is, suitable for completing the collection and vitrification of 100 mouse liver biopsies without the purchase of any additional hardware. Furthermore, the system will be chosen based on its performance (number of biopsies vitrified per hour; time for vitrifying a single biopsy), vitrification parameters, vitrification reproducibility, ease of use, liquid nitrogen consumption, repair and service record, warranty length, and price. The HPF system will be installed at the University of Ottawa in a temperature-controlled room that is suitable for its operation.

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