Maxam-Gilbert method

DNA sequencing

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July 19, 2026

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The Maxam-Gilbert method is one of the foundational techniques for DNA sequencing, a process that determines the order of nucleotides (A, C, G, and T) within a DNA molecule. Developed by Allan M. Maxam and Walter Gilbert in the 1970s, this method relies on the differential chemical reactivity of the DNA bases. Through a series of chemical reactions, specific bases are selectively cleaved, creating DNA fragments of varying lengths. These fragments are then separated by size using gel electrophoresis, allowing scientists to deduce the original nucleotide sequence. While historically significant, the Maxam-Gilbert method has largely been superseded by more efficient and automated sequencing technologies.123

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recombinant DNA
Methods
…basic sequencing approaches are the Maxam-Gilbert method, discovered by and named for American molecular biologists Allan M. Maxam and Walter Gilbert, and the Sanger method, discovered by English biochemist Frederick Sanger. In the most commonly used method, the Sanger method, DNA chains are synthesized on a template strand,
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…basic sequencing approaches are the Maxam-Gilbert method, discovered by and named for American molecular biologists Allan M. Maxam and Walter Gilbert, and the Sanger method, discovered by English biochemist Frederick Sanger. In the most commonly used method, the Sanger method, DNA chains are synthesized on a template strand,
Read More

DNA sequencing
First-generation sequencing technology
…in the 1970s, included the Maxam-Gilbert method, discovered by and named for American molecular biologists Allan M. Maxam and Walter Gilbert, and the Sanger method (or dideoxy method), discovered by English biochemist Frederick Sanger. In the Sanger method, which became the more commonly employed of the two
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…in the 1970s, included the Maxam-Gilbert method, discovered by and named for American molecular biologists Allan M. Maxam and Walter Gilbert, and the Sanger method (or dideoxy method), discovered by English biochemist Frederick Sanger. In the Sanger method, which became the more commonly employed of the two
Read More