Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometer

Updated Oct 29, 2026

Sources Sought from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, for work in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Due Nov 28, 2026, 2:00 PM (UTC-5), 30 days left.

Federal prevailing wage rates for this place: Maryland Davis-Bacon and SCA wage determinations.

Description

Sources Sought Notice for Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometer Notice ID: NIST-MML-FY27-SS01 Response Date: 11/28/2026 Product Service Code (PSC): 6640 NAICS Code: 334516 Background The Inorganic Chemical Metrology Group (ICMG) uses at least two measurement methods, each based on orthogonal physical principles, to certify the trace elements in candidate standard reference materials (SRM).

These SRMs are intended for method validation and quality assurance in trace-element measurements to assess the nutritional value and contaminant status of agricultural products. A sensitive trace-element detector, a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer (GFAAS) is sought to complement the group's inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric (ICP-MS) measurement capability and fulfill the two independent method requirements for SRM development.

Consideration will be given to GFAAS capable of direct solid-sample analysis to maximize its orthogonality relative to the liquid-sampling-based ICP-MS technique. Minimum Capabilities that NIST Requires and for Which Information is Being Requested The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) located in Gaithersburg, MD is seeking information on vendors that are capable of providing a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer (1) capable of measuring liquid test samples with an instrument detection limit (DL) for Cu at 0.02 µg/L or better (324.8 nm line, 50 µL sample volume, DL=3 x standard deviation of 10 replications) and (2) designed for direct introduction of solid state test samples into the graphite furnace for analyte quantification without a need of sample digestion Instructions for Responding to This Notice Parties that respond to this Notice are requested to submit the requested information via email in Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, and/or Microsoft Excel format to the designated point(s) of contact whose name and email address appears at the bottom of this notice.

Please provide only the information requested by this Notice, and do not include proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information in a response to this Notice. The Government reserves the right to use information that it receives in response to this Notice as it deems appropriate to establish final requirements or for other legally appropriate purposes. Information Requested in Response to This Notice: To help NIST with its market research, NIST is requesting that industry sources carefully review this notice and any attachments to it and voluntarily provide the following information: Company Summary Notice Identification: Notice ID and Title of this posting.

Corporate Details: Company name, physical address, website address, and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Point of Contact (POC): Name, phone number, and email address. Company Size Standard: Your company’s size status relative to the NAICS code provided in this Notice.

(Refer to the SBA Table of Small Business Size Standards). System for Award Management (SAM) Registration: Indicate whether your company has an active registration for procurement purposes in SAM.gov. Review the information included with this Notice, indicate whether there is anything that may inadvertently exclude domestically manufactured (made in the U.S.A.) end products from being considered; and indicate if anything included with this Notice could potentially be revised to improve the ability for domestic (“Made in America”) end products to be considered; and if a domestic end product is not currently available to meet the draft requirements/minimum specifications, please provide an estimated timeframe for when it may be domestically produced in the USA in the future if that appears to be likely.

Information Regarding Commercial Products and Related Commercial Services Provide specifications, company name of the original equipment manufacturer, and the country of manufacture for commercial products and/or commercial services that your company is legally authorized to sell and that may meet NIST’s minimum requirements. Standard Commercial Pricing: Provide your company’s standard commercial pricing information for the requirements described in this Notice (including any Attachments) and explain what is included in those standard commercial prices.

Estimated Price Range: You may provide an estimated price or estimated price range for the draft requirements included in this notice, including a brief explanation of how it was derived. Standard Commercial Terms and Conditions: Provide a copy of the standard commercial terms and conditions for the commercial products and/or commercial services identified in your company’s response to this Notice, including the nature and the duration of applicable standard commercial warranty(ies).

Regulatory and Supply Chain Compliance Indicate whether your company could comply with RFO FAR clause 52.219-14 (Deviation JAN 2026) if this acquisition were to be set aside for small businesses (assuming that there is no waiver to the Nonmanufacturer Rule for the applicable NAICS code). Provide a brief supporting explanation. Existing Governmentwide Contract Vehicles Indicate whether your company has its own GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract or other federal contract vehicle(s) under which NIST could award an order and, if so, provide the details of the contract(s) (contract number, Contracting Officer name/contact, SOW, terms and conditions, and price lists).

Important Notes This Notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay respondents to this notice for information provided in response to this Notice. Following a review of the responses and market research, NIST may publish a solicitation on an authorized site, depending on the chosen acquisition strategy. Responses received after the closing date for this Notice may not be considered.

There is no solicitation available at this time. The Government reserves the right to use information that it receives

The description continues in the official notice.

Contracting contact

• Don Graham · [email protected] · (301) 975-8567

As published on the official notice. Ask questions in writing and before any questions deadline the notice sets.

Is your business small enough?

For NAICS 334516, a business counts as small if it has no more than 1,000 employees (SBA size standard). This notice is not set aside, but the size decides your small business status on it. SBA table, current as of Oct 15, 2026.

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing contracts right now

There are 75 open government contract opportunities in this trade (NAICS 334516), 35 posted in the last 7 days; 39% are set aside for small businesses. The agencies buying the most are Department of Veterans Affairs, National Institutes of Health and Department of the Navy. Most of the work with a stated place is in Maryland, Florida and Ohio. A notice in this trade gives a median of 14 days from posting to deadline; this one gives 31 days.

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Coming up in this trade

Planned contracts from the agencies' procurement forecasts, often months before a solicitation. Plans can change.

Recent awards in this trade

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• Hologic Sales And Service, LLC $58,190 · Department of Veterans Affairs · Oct 8, 2026

From the award notices agencies publish.

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