The Research and Technology Directorate under Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) is seeking market research and potential sources for available commercial sample preparation and genomic sequencing systems. Platforms of particular interest are those that support rapid sample processing, sequence-ready nucleic acid preparation, and whole genome shotgun sequencing read output, all with minimal human intervention (i.e., "Sample-to-sequence"). The scope of the information being sought covers the processing and sequencing of unknown aqueous clinical and aqueous environmental samples to identify viral and/or bacterial components. The system should be able to support the sample processing of unknown clinical or environmental samples through to genomic sequencing and provide sequencing read data that can be used to identify viral and/or bacterial components. This request for information is focused solely on the sample-to-sequence capability and not the subsequent data analysis or assembly software.

Response Date: Dec. 31, 2012