Applied DNA supplier for Defense

The U.S. Department of Defense has said it is now requiring all of its microcircuit suppliers to embed the high-tech devices with anticounterfitting stamps manufactured by Applied DNA Sciences Inc. of Stony Brook.

“We are already receiving numerous inquiries,” Hayward said Thursday in a letter to investors. Applied DNA, with 25 employees, marks microchips and other products with plant DNA that cannot be duplicated.

The company has struggled to turn a profit since its founding in 2002. Its stock jumped about 22 percent Thursday, to 7 cents a share, after Hayward told investors about the Department of Defense's requirement.