Tender Details

Fluorescent Activated Cell Sorter

Business Name

QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

VP Reference #

VP510997

Buyers Reference #

2026 152

Opens

Monday 25 May 2026 (E. Australia Standard Time)

Closes

Monday 22 June 2026 05:00 PM (E. Australia Standard Time) CLOSED

Supplier query cut-off

Thursday 18 June 2026 05:00 PM (E. Australia Standard Time)

Expected decision

Monday 13 July 2026 (E. Australia Standard Time)

Buyer Details

Business Name

QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

Location

300 Herston Rd
Herston, Queensland 4006
Australia

WebSite:

http://www.qimrberghofer.edu.au

Business Info

At QIMR Berghofer, we seek to discover, diagnose and deliver better treatments for some of the world’s deadliest diseases.

Contact Name

Paul Bensley

Position:

Procurement Management

Primary phone:

07 3362 0222

Mobile phone:

0473836450

Fax number:

None Provided

Email:

paul.bensley@qimrb.edu.au

What the buyer is requesting

Details

The Council of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (“QIMR Berghofer” and “the Institute”) was established in 1945 by the Queensland Government, and is one of the largest and most successful medical research institutions in Australia and is recognised worldwide for the quality of its research

QIMR Berghofer currently has four significant research areas of Cancer, Infection & Inflammation, Mental Health & Neuroscience, and Population Health.

The purpose of this Invitation to Offer is to purchase a high parameter spectral Fluorescent Activated Cell Sorter to be housed in a cell sorting room, within a biohazard enclosure. This highly flexible instrument will enable diverse cell sorting applications to be performed for the different research groups within the Institute and will be located in the Flow Cytometry Facility, QIMR Berghofer, Level 8, Central Building.

We are looking to make this purchase as soon as is practical, with a July / August 2026 delivery target.

Background information / Compatibility requirements

Details

Regulatory and Compatibility requirements are as follows:

The enclosure housing the Fluorescent Activated Cell Sorter must meet or exceed the Australian Standard AS 2252-2025.

There are also other International Standards that would be acceptable as these may exceed the Australian standards.

• NSF International Standard/American National Standard. NSF/ANSI 49-2024: Biosafety Cabinets Design and Performance

• European Committee for Standardization (CEN). EN 12469-1:2025(Main): Biological safety cabinets - Part 1: Classes and basic requirements.

Please detail electrical requirements –of the offer including number of GPOs and the current rating of each.

Please detail thermal requirements – i.e. air conditioning and allowable thermal drift.

Acquired data files must meet the Flow Cytometry Standard FCS 3.0 or 3.1 allowing them to be analysed using third party software such as Flowjo, FCS Express and OMIQ.

Desired Outcomes ('Nice to haves', Conditions & Warranties, SLA's, Project benefits)

Details

Please ensure the following is provided:

1. All technical capabilities and features.

2. All whole of life support provided - warranties and service or maintenance programs.

3. Please review the Equipment Purchase Agreement and outline any departures from the standard agreement, this will form part of the evaluation.

Questions asked by the buyer

Question 1 - [Required]

Mandatory – Provision of an instrument with a range of excitation lasers ranging from UV to red including wavelengths of 355nm, 405nm, 488nm, 561nm, and 640nm as a minimum.

Question 2 - [Required]

Mandatory – Ability to perform spectral acquisition and spectral cell sorting.

Question 3 - [Required]

Mandatory – Ability to detect and sort using more than 25 fluorescence parameters simultaneously. Please provide references to demonstrate this capability

Question 4 - [Required]

Mandatory – Provision of a Class 1 biosafety enclosure for sorter accordance with the requirements of AS 2252.

Question 5 - [Required]

Mandatory – Ability to acquire and sort particles or cells of different sizes.

Question 6 - [Required]

Mandatory – Able to sort into both collection tubes and collection plates.

Question 7 - [Required]

Mandatory – Ability to sort a minimum of six different cell populations simultaneously.

Question 8 - [Required]

Mandatory – Ability to retain a high level of viability and functionality in sorted cells. Please provide references demonstrating downstream use of sorted cells retaining functional phenotype.

Question 9 - [Required]

Desirable – Provision of multiple nozzle sizes as standard including 70um, 85um, 100um and 130um.

Question 10 - [Required]

Desirable – Ability to perform cell sorting at high efficiency at various sample rates up to 15,000 - 20,000 events/ sec.

Question 11 - [Required]

Desirable – Ability to perform FACS index sorting.

Question 12 - [Required]

Desirable – Ability to extract autofluorescence effectively from complex sample types.

Question 13 - [Required]

Desirable - Provision of a safety Class II enclosure to house the sorter, which operates in accordance with the requirements of AS 2252.

Question 14 - [Required]

Desirable – Ability to upgrade the instrument with additional lasers and detectors in the future as required

Question 15 - [Required]

Desirable – Temperature control between 4°C and 37°C for both pre-sort sample and post-sort sample.

Question 16 - [Required]

Desirable – Ability to agitate pre-sort sample during sorting.

Question 17 - [Required]

Desirable – Ability to acquire and sort cells or particles ranging in size from 0.2um to 35µm.

Question 18 - [Required]

Desirable – Ability to detect and sort particles smaller than 0.2um

Question 19 - [Required]

Desirable – Ability to demonstrate instrument prior to purchase.

Question 20 - [Required]

Desirable – provision of an appropriate uninterrupted power supply (UPS).

Question 21 - [Required]

Optional – Ability to collect sorted cells into different sized collection tubes simultaneously.

Question 22 - [Required]

Optional – Bubble detection on sample line.

Supplier lists selected

Lists

Lab, Measure, Observe & Test Equip

Categories selected