LUIS ERNESTO MIRAMONTES: BIOGRAPHY, CONTRIBUTIONS, WORKS - ARTE - 2025

Luis Ernesto Miramontes (1925-2004) was a scientist born in Mexico. His childhood was marked by the influence of one of his aunts, who was in charge of the young man's education and stimulated his interest in science. Thanks to a scholarship, Miramontes was able to enter the National Preparatory School in Mexico City.

Miramontes began his university training at the National School of Sciences. His great talent for the matter caused that very soon he began to work at the Syntex company. There, at only 26 years old, he made the most important discovery of his career: synthesizing norethisterone, the basis of the first contraceptive pill.

Self-portrait of Luis E. Miramontes http://scifunam.fisica.unam.mx/mir/LEMC/1951-1970/images.html - Under public domain

This discovery has been considered by various scientific organizations as one of the most important of the 20th century and Miramontes is considered one of the three most transcendent Mexican chemists in history. Likewise, he was awarded various awards for his work.

Although this finding was the best known among those made by Miramontes, his scientific work includes more than 40 patents in various fields. Likewise, he stood out for his career as a teacher, developed above all at the Faculty of Chemistry at UNAM.

Biography

Luis Ernesto Miramontes Cárdenas was born in Tepic, the capital of the State of Nayarit, in Mexico. The future scientist came to the world on March 16, 1925 and his childhood was marked by the absence of his father, a high political official of the State who did not want to recognize his son.

Without the presence of his father, Miramontes grew up surrounded by the women of his family. Among these, the influence exerted by one of his aunts, María Dolores Cárdenas, stood out. She had held an important position in Pancho Villa's army during the revolution and, later, was a rural teacher within Lázaro Cárdenas's project to make the country literate.

According to his biographers, his aunt was in charge of the education of Luis Miramontes and encouraged him to continue his scientific vocation.

Studies

A scholarship allowed Luís Miramontes to begin his studies in Mexico City, specifically at the San Ildefonso National Preparatory School.

His next educational stage was carried out at the National School of Chemical Science of the UNAM. In that institution he remained between 1945 and 1949, the date on which he completed his degree in Chemical Engineering.

From a very young age, Miramontes stood out for his ability in the field of chemical experimentation. The result of this good work was an offer to collaborate at the Institute of Chemistry when he was still in his third year of study.

I work at Syntex

Just one year after finishing his chemistry studies, Luis Miramontes started working for Syntex Laboratories. This company had been created by several foreign scientists, including George Rosenkranz and Emeric Somlo. At the time they were trying to manufacture hormones on a large scale using the mullein plant.

The great discovery of Luis Miramontes occurred on October 15, 1951. That day, at only 26 years old, the scientist, in collaboration with Carl Djerassi, who was directing his thesis, managed to synthesize the substance that would become the basis of the first contraceptive oral for women.

The finding changed the lives of millions of women, although in Mexico the reception was not very positive. The country's society was very conservative and the Catholic community rejected the invention. Miramontes even received threats of excommunication. It was not until the 70s when it began to receive some recognition in the capital.

Career

From that moment on, Miramontes had a very successful professional career. In 1952, he was appointed Deputy Director of the Development Division, a position he made compatible with that of researcher within the Institute of Chemistry of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Three years later, he began working at the Searle Laboratories in Mexico. In that company he held, first, the position of Director of Development and, later, that of Director of Research.

Already in 1972, the scientist chose another professional destination: Head of the Petrochemical Processes Research Division at the Mexican Petroleum Institute.

His next job position was as Head of a pilot plant that sought to develop the technology necessary to industrialize the production of steroids from yucca. It was a joint commission from the National Commission for Arid Zones and the National Council for Science and Technology.

In 1977 he became head of the Agrochemical Division of the Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo. The rest of his career was developed in that same body, until, in 1993, he left it permanently.

His last active years were spent at the National College of Chemical Engineers, where he served as Director of Operations.

Teaching career

In addition to all the positions mentioned above, Luis Miramontes also maintained an important teaching activity. This began in 1967, when he became a professor at the Faculty of Chemistry at UNAM. From that date until 1976, the scientist taught classes in various subjects.

In 1971, he was appointed Director of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Universidad Iberoamericana, a position he held until 1976.

Death

Luis Miramontes Cárdenas died in Mexico City on September 13, 2004, at the age of 79.

Despite his contribution to science, the figure of Miramontes was not well known in his country. One of his 10 children, Octavio, said that the family contacted a newspaper to report the death, but the newspaper refused to publish anything if they did not pay for the obituary. According to the newspaper, nobody was interested in the figure of the scientist.

Contributions and discoveries

There is no doubt that the synthesis of norethisterone and its subsequent use for the female oral contraceptive was Luis Miramontes' greatest discovery. However, his work is much more extensive.

Thus, Miramontes left around 40 patents, both national and international. His works spanned numerous scientific branches, from organic to petrochemical chemistry, through pharmaceutical or pollutant chemistry. In addition, he was the author or co-author of numerous publications.

Synthesis of norethisterone

As noted above, the greatest discovery made by Luis Miramontes took place on October 15, 1951, when the scientist was only 26 years old.

His achievement was to synthesize a substance called norethisterone, a powerful antiovulatory. In practice, its discovery became the defining step in the creation of the female contraceptive pill.

Miramontes was at that time working with barbasco, a Mexican plant. At that time it was known that norethisterone could be obtained from this vegetable, but it was a costly process and therefore not suitable for mass production.

These studies were framed in an international context of the search for an oral contraceptive and numerous laboratories were developing their studies. Syntex, a small laboratory run by George Rosenkranz and Carl Djerassi, beat them all.

When Miramontes managed to make the first synthesis of the substance, Djerassi asked him to make a second attempt, since, although it seemed to work, some impurities had appeared. However, Miramontes discovered that it was precisely these impurities that made the substance effective.

From that discovery, Dr. Gregory Pincus developed the birth control pill.

Patent

In many publications the invention of the female oral contraceptive is attributed to Djerassi and / or Rosenkranz. However, scientific sources agree on the fundamental participation of Miramontes as the discoverer of how to carry out the synthesis.

Djerassi himself corroborated this circumstance when he stated that Miramontes had been the first to synthesize the compound. In addition, Miramontes appeared first among the authors of the published article on the discovery and the entire process was recorded in his laboratory notebook.

Despite the above, Miramontes never sought recognition for his find. He did not even get an economic profit from it, since he only received 10 dollars after doing it. His own words in an interview with the EFE Agency show his humility: "I did not invent the pill but I made it possible."

Catalysts and pulque

Luis Miramontes is considered one of the most prolific researchers in all of Latin America. His patents, although difficult to quantify, are around 60.

Two of his projects stand out from the rest. The first was developed in the 70s, when Mexico City was going through an emergency due to high levels of pollution. At that time, Miramontes worked at the Mexican Petroleum Institute and dedicated himself to improving the operation of catalytic converters in cars.

The second invention was never used, although its functionality is recognized. It was a new method to make pulque industrially. The scientist tried to incorporate chemical principles into his elaboration and obtained a very good review from the tasters. However, the high price of the process meant that it was not implemented.

Awards and honours

The problems that Miramontes found in order to be recognized in his country have already been pointed out. However, its synthesis of the component of the contraceptive pill did win awards abroad.

The scientist became the only Mexican in the Inventors Hall of Fame in the United States. Likewise, his invention was named one of the twenty most important in history by a survey conducted by the British Engineering and Technology Board (ETB) of the United Kingdom.

The United States Patent Department also recognized the invention and included it in the top 40 of the last two centuries. As a result, Miramontes was recognized as one of the three most important and influential Mexican chemists in the world.

In addition to the above, Miramontes belonged to several scientific organizations, from the American Chemical Society to the Chemical Society of Mexico, through the New York Academy of Sciences or the National College of Chemical and Chemical Engineers of Mexico.

Medal of the State of Mexico

The scientist had to wait until the 70s and 80s to start receiving recognition in his country. In 1985, he was awarded the State of Mexico prize in the field of Sciences and Arts. Similarly, in 1986, he won the Andrés Manuel del Río National Chemistry Award.

In his home state, Nayarit, Luis Miramontes obtained a public tribute from the government, as well as an academic recognition offered by the Technological Institute of Tepic.

Other recognitions

Already in the 90's, the scientist received new recognitions and tributes from various institutions. To begin with, in 1992, the Tepic hospital was named after him.

Two years later, the Ministry of Health created the National Family Planning Program in Mexico, not without first recognizing the fundamental discovery of Miramontes in this field.

Already in 2001, half a century after his discovery, the scientist was honored by the UNAM and the Ministry of Health of Mexico. Four years later, the Mexican Academy of Sciences named his invention as the most important made by a researcher from his country in the 20th century:

From that moment until his death, the figure of Miramontes and the research that led to the synthesis of norethisterone continued to receive worldwide recognition. The scientist, for example, was considered one of the chemists who changed the world by the Institution of Chemical Engineers, as well as the most notable graduate of UNAM.

Published works

- Miramontes, L; Rosenkranz, G; Djerassi, C. 1951 Journal of the american chemical society 73 (7): 3540-41 steroids. 22. the synthesis of 19-nor-progesterone

- Sandoval, A; Miramontes, L; Rosenkranz, G; Djerassi, C. 1951 Journal of the american chemical society 73 (3): 990-91. The dienone phenol rearrangement.

- Sandoval, A; Miramontes, L; Rosenkranz, G; Djerassi, C; Sondheimer, F. 1953 Journal of the american chemical society 75 (16): 4117-18 steroids.69. 19-nor-desoxycorticosterone, a potent mineralocorticoid hormone

- Mancera, O; Miramontes, L; Rosenkranz, G; Sondheimer, F; Djerassi, C. 1953 Journal of the american chemical society 75 (18): 4428-29 steroidal sapogenins. 28. The reaction of peracids with enol acetates of delta-8-7-keto and delta-8-11-keto steroidal sapogenins

- Djerassi, C; Miramontes, l; Rosenkranz, G. 1953 Journal of the american chemical society 75 (18): 4440-42 steroids.48. 19-norprogesterone, a potent progestational hormone

- Djerassi, C; Miramontes, L; Rosenkranz, G; Sondheimer, F. 1954 Journal of the american chemical society 76 (16): 4092-94 steroids.54. synthesis of 19-nor-17-alpha-ethynyltestosterone and 19-nor-17-alpha-methyltestosterone

References

1. Peace, Susana. The Mexican who detonated the sexual revolution. Obtained from Cienciamx.com
2. Miramontes Vidal, Octavio. The contraceptive pill, the UNAM and the greatest contribution of Mexican science of all time. Obtained from scifunam.fisica.unam.mx
3. El Periódico / EFE. The forerunner of the contraceptive pill never discussed sex with his ten children. Obtained from elperiodico.com
4. Revolvy. Luis E. Miramontes. Retrieved from revolvy.com
5. Warmflash, David. Luis E. Miramontes: The Breakthrough Invention of Oral Contraceptives. Retrieved from visionlearning.com
6. SciencieBlogs. Role Models in Science & Engineering Achievement: Luis Ernesto Miramontes Cardenas - Mexican Chemical Engineer. Retrieved from scienceblogs.com
7. Geek Girl in Love. History's Hidden Heroes: Luis E. Miramontes. Retrieved from geekgirlinlove.com
8. Bellis, Mary. Top List of Mexican Inventors. Retrieved from thoughtco.com