Provision of a Confocal Microscope

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is responsible for planning, preventing and responding to external health threats, and providing intellectual, scientific and operational leadership at national and local level, as well as on the global stage. UKHSA ensures the nation can respond quickly and at greater scale to deal with pandemics and future threats. It does this through advocacy, partnerships, world-class science, knowledge and intelligence, and the delivery of specialist public health services. UKHSA is an operationally autonomous executive agency of the United Kingdom Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

UKHSA is seeking to gather information on the potential provision of a confocal microscope for use in its Vaccine Development Evaluation Centre Porton laboratory. UKHSA is conducting a Preliminary Market Engagement exercise, to assess the market and identify supplier(s) who can support the delivery of the equipment.

The UKHSA is currently preparing a scope of requirements. Prior to initiating any procurement exercise, UKHSA wishes to engage the market to better understand both the level of capability to deliver the requirements and the level of interest to supply. Responses will then be used to inform the most appropriate potential route to market which has yet to be determined.

This is not a call for competition but a preliminary market engagement exercise to gain insight into the market ahead of a possible Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the goods. UKHSA aims to ensure any subsequent ITT is best aligned with current market capabilities and capacity.

The microscope must be able to meet the below requirements:

• Must be capable of imaging thick biological samples to include Emulate chips and transwell membranes, with multi-layered cells on both sides of the membrane, using at least a 20x objective
• Must have objectives which have long working distances (up to 1mm thick biological samples) and high-NA apochromatic lenses: 10×, 20×, 40× air, 60× water immersion objective
• Must have a laser excitation module with minimum of 4 lines: 405 nm, 488 nm, 561 nm, and 640 nm, covering UV to far-red spectrum
• Must have a confocal single point scanning design to provide maximum resolution and optimum rejection of out of focus light in thick specimens (spinning disc designs are out of scope for this tender)
• Must have an advanced detector array: High sensitivity, simultaneous 4-colour imaging
• Must have a fully motorized inverted microscope platform with precision stage control and automated component switching
• Must have dual-mode confocal scanner unit featuring high-resolution and high-speed scanning capabilities for flexible acquisition
• Must have a Hardware-based autofocus system with real-time axial correction for long-term imaging stability
• Must have a Piezo-driven Z-stage enabling rapid and precise Z-stack acquisition
• Must have a high-throughput imaging support via water immersion dispenser and 60× water immersion objective
• Must have an integrated illumination unit for brightfield and widefield fluorescence viewing through eyepieces
• Must have a widefield imaging camera for sample overview, ROI identification, and documentation
• Must have an anti-vibration optical table for mechanical stability and noise reduction
• Must have a high-performance PC with a large-format monitor for image processing and control
• Must have advanced imaging software suite with modules for: confocal acquisition and deconvolution, automated imaging workflows, and 3D visualization and quantitative analysis.

UKHSA invites potential suppliers to register their interest by completing the Microsoft Form, via the link included in this notice, by 17:00 hours (GMT) on 15th July 2026.

forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx ↗

This notice is for information only and the information contained herein, including information relating to the nature and scope of the requirement, the estimated value and contract dates is indicative only and is neither exhaustive nor binding and the Authority reserves the right, at its absolute discretion, to amend it at the time of issue of any further notices or at any other time.

This Preliminary Market Engagement Notice does not constitute a formal procurement process and in no way obliges the Authority to commence any competitive tender process. Participation in this engagement will not give an advantage or disadvantage to any supplier in any subsequent procurement.

The Authority is not and shall not be liable for any costs incurred by those expressing an interest in participating in this premarket engagement exercise.

All information provided will be treated as commercially sensitive and used solely for the purposes of market research.