Announcement of an Exempt Purchase

Prospector Instrument for high-throughput isolation, cultivation and screening of bacteria.

This purchase is exempt from the usual selection processes of the Procurement Code because the procurement expenditure is for performing sponsored research and other sponsored activities under grants and contracts funded by the sponsor or by sources other than State appropriations. (30 ILCS 500 / 1-13(b)(8)) There are very few of these instruments in existence and so this gives UIC the advantage of being able to isolate bacteria that have not been isolated before, especially when applied to understudied environments. This improves the probability of finding novel antibiotic-producing bacteria from environmental samples which in turn improves the chances to patent and license such antibiotics and generate significant revenue for the University.