Helium Reliquifiers for NMR Magnet

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), intends to award a contract to Bluefors Cryocooler Technologies, Inc. on a sole-source basis pursuant to FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, for the acquisition of Helium Reliquifiers for NMR Magnets , the Government intends to solicit and award a Purchase Order on a sole-source basis because the Government's minimum technical requirements will be satisfied by Bluefors Cryocooler Technologies, Inc. The Solid State NMR and Biomolecular Physics Section (SSNMRBP) of the Laboratory of Chemical Physics (LCP), National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) uses nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to investigate the molecular structures, motions, and interactions of biomedically relevant protein assemblies, including amyloid fibrils involved in neurodegenerative diseases, viral capsid assemblies, and proteins from nuclear pores of eukaryotic cells. NMR measurements are performed in powerful magnets. These magnets must be cooled with liquid helium to maintain high electrical currents in the superconducting materials within the magnets. Since the liquid helium in the NMR magnets continuously vaporizes ("boils off"), the liquid helium must be refilled periodically. Prices of liquid helium have increased dramatically over the past 20 years and liquid helium deliveries are frequently unreliable due to worldwide political events and conflicts. Increased prices and unreliable delivery threatens to require that NMR magnets be shut down. This would bring research projects in SSNMRBP to a halt. Helium recycling for the NMR magnets in SSNMRBP therefore has paramount importance. The Cryomech division of Bluefors Cryocooler Technologies, Inc. has recently developed "helium reliquifier" systems that can be attached directly to NMR magnets, allowing the NMR magnets...