BACKGROUND:
Notice is hereby given by the University of Ottawa of the intent to enter into a contract with Tecniplast to purchase Individually Ventilated Caging Systems (IVC) and Ventilation units for the purposes of housing laboratory mice.
PROCESS:
Suppliers who consider their equipment functional, successfully tested, readily available and fully compliant may submit in writing a statement of specifications to the contact person identified in this Notice, on or before the closing date of this Notice. In the statement of specifications, the supplier must unequivocally demonstrate how their equipment, at minimum, equals, or exceeds the stated requirements.
If no other supplier submits a statement of specifications, on or before the closing date of this Notice, the competitive requirements of the University of Ottawa will be considered as having been met.
Following notification to any suppliers not successful in unequivocally demonstrating that their statement of specifications equals or exceeds the requirements set out in this Notice, the contract may then be awarded to the pre-identified supplier.
INTENDED USE:
The intended use of this product is to house laboratory mice for use in research and to provide adequate ventilation to the animals.
FUNCTIONALITY:
The equipment must conform to the followingspecifications:
General: Minimumrequirement:
The housing system must:
• Meet or exceed all Canadian regulatory requirements and standards for the housing and care of mice for use in research and teaching;
• Ensure clear visibility of the animals;
• Provide for safe handling and provide for ergonomic considerations;
• Provide adequate filtration to ensure biosecurity requirements are met and to decrease staff’s exposure to animal allergens;
• Must be compatible with existing infrastructure (cage wash robotics system, logistics distribution equipment).
Cage: Minimumrequirements
• Cage dimension should meet or exceed Canadian regulatory requirements and standards (Guide to Care and Use of Experimental Animals, vol.1, 2nd ed. (1993) and be compatible with cage wash robotics system.
• Cage dimensions must be as follows: 391 x 199 x 160 (172*) mm • 15.40 x 7.83 x 6.30 (6.79*) inch
• Minimum floor space specifications;
• Floor Area = 500 cm2
• Cage height = 12.7 cm
• Cage body must have no need for latches to achieve high level of sealing.
• Acceptable plastics for cage bottom and top: Clear Polysulfone, Polysulfone, and Polyphenylsulfone. Materials must be resistant to detergents used repeatedly for cleaning and sanitization. Materials must also be autoclavable (shape and transparency of plastic must be maintained).
• Water bottles must be manufactured with thermoplastic materials (ex: polysulfone) or equivalent. Materials must be resistant to detergents used repeatedly for cleaning and sanitization. Materials must also be autoclavable (shape and transparency of plastic must be maintained).
• Bottles must be compatible with current water bottle processing equipment, including sizing for basket placement and water filling. To be compatible, bottle dimensions must be as follows: Square 55 mm x 128 mm.
• Water bottles must include reliable silicone seals with the bottle cap, preventing any leakage resulting in wet cages and must be compatible with the bottle automation system from IWT.
• Water bottles must be able to hold a minimum 250 ml of water.
• Must have half wire bar lid for easy access to the animal. The lid must be made of high quality stainless steel, in order to avoid rust and oxidization that can affect the animal health, without any dangerous point (sharp edges, v-shaped points).
• Cage top must feature an external self-centering depression for water bottle: in this way the operator does not need to center the hole with the bottle cap, but the bottle slides in by itself. No need to pull out the cages from the rack to perform the bottle change.
• All cages must be fitted with a microbiological filter in order (0.2um) to provide safety for both operators and animals.
• The inlet and outlet air nozzle must be configured to avoid cross-contamination. Air valves must be self-closing and well-sealed in order to have high level of sealing when the cage is undocked from the rack.
• Inlet and outlet air nozzle at the rear top of the cage preventing the animals from being exposed to air drafts and consequently from potential anxious behavior and stress.
• Cages must be made to provide micro-isolation conditions in either positive or negative pressure. Cages must also be able to maintain a secure environment in the event of a power failure.
• Must have autoclavable plastic card holders - suitable for both horizontal and vertical cards of any standard size.
• The quality of the cage must be ensured by dimensional and functional tests, autoclave cycles and washing cycles.
Rack: Minimumrequirements
• The intra-cage ACH distribution across the rack must be within ±15% from the mean ACH value, even if 50% of the cages have been removed in order to provide high level of standardization of the intra-cage conditions. This must be certified, better if by third parties (TUV).
• Rack must contain a system of vertical plenums featuring nozzles for the supply and exhaust of air individually to each cage, both positioned in the top of the cage in order not to stress the animals with a direct airstream.
• Rack horizontal plenums must be easily demountable for sanitization and washing process, without the need of any tool.
• The rack must have automatic visual indicators for cage properly docked.
• Rack must be at least 10 level high in order to maximize density (number of cages per square meter)
• The rack must be washed and autoclaved at 121°C together with the rack.
• The rack must be equipped with castors resistant to washing and autoclaving. Moreover castors must allow for very low force to enable/disable the brake to support ergonomic considerations.
Air Handling Unit: Minimumrequirements
• Cages must be ventilated with HEPA filtered air by an air handling unit (“AHU”).
• Every AHU must come with the related DOP test certification for HEPA filters, both supply and exhaust, and test reports concerning electrical and aeraulic tests.
• The stainless steel structure must be covered by plastic covers, in order to make easier the cleaning procedures.
• AHU must not create noise influence in the mice audible frequency range (15-20kHz and 50-60kHz) in order to not stress the animals with ultrasounds. Third parties certification in a semi-anechoic room is a must.
• The AHU must be able to serve up to 4 single-sided racks or 2 double-sided, with the option of easily setting the number and the type of cages via the control panel.
• The AHU must be able to serve mouse or rat racks.
• The AHU must be mobile.
• The AHU must be able to supply positive or negative differential pressures.
• The AHU must contain touch screen and allow the ability to control/calibrate temperature, airflow etc. The touch screen must also display current values of temperature, humidity and airflow parameters
• The pre-filter change must be possible without the need of any tool, in order to allow quicker procedures.
• Pre-filters must be washable and reusable
• The AHU should have a performance monitoring device, which clearly shows to the user the HEPA filter load and blower status, in order to show immediately the working conditions.
• The AHU must be stand-alone, in order to not transmit vibrations to the racks.
• Noise level must be < 50 dBA.
Justification of Pre-Selected Supplier:
Supplier:
Tecniplast CANADA Inc., 2 College Street, Office 212, Toronto ON, M5G 1K3, Canada
Justification:
The Tecniplast individually ventilated caging systems and ventilation units to house mice are the only ones on the market that are compatible with the University’s existing highly automated cage washing robotics system manufactured by Integrated Washing Technologies- IWT Tecniplast. Although the robot can be configured to accept alternate styles of caging, the cost as estimated from the supplier would be a minimum of 52,000 USD, plus the cost of all the logistics needed to process these cages, and is prohibitive. Additionally, the inclusion of such alternate caging would present logistical, operational and space problems related to lost efficiencies resulting from mixed inventory management. A supplier proposing an alternate type of caging must demonstrate that there will be no lost efficiencies resulting from mixed inventory, and would additionally be required to pay the above costs related to implementing the alternate type of caging.
