Sanger method

DNA sequencing

Also known as: dideoxy method

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July 17, 2026

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The Sanger method is a technique used to determine the nucleotide sequence of DNA. Developed by Frederick Sanger, this method involves synthesizing DNA chains on a template. Chain growth is halted when a special dideoxy nucleotide is incorporated, preventing further addition. This process creates a set of truncated DNA molecules, each representing a specific position of a nucleotide in the original DNA. These fragments are then separated by electrophoresis, and a computer analyzes the results to deduce the DNA sequence. This method was a foundational "first-generation" sequencing technology, largely superseded by faster and more cost-efficient "next-generation" approaches.123

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recombinant DNA
Methods
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, but chain growth is stopped when one of four possible dideoxy nucleotides, which lack a 3′ hydroxyl group, is incorporated,…
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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, but chain growth is stopped when one of four possible dideoxy nucleotides, which lack a 3′ hydroxyl group, is incorporated,…
Read More

DNA sequencing
First-generation sequencing technology
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 approaches, DNA chains were synthesized on a template strand, but chain growth was stopped when one of four possible dideoxy nucleotides,…
Read More
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 approaches, DNA chains were synthesized on a template strand, but chain growth was stopped when one of four possible dideoxy nucleotides,…
Read More