Luis Ernesto Miramontes Cárdenas (March 16, 1925 – September 13, 2004) was a Mexican chemist known as co-inventor and the first to synthesize an oral contraceptive, progestin norethisterone.

Career summary

Miramontes was born in Tepic, Nayarit. He obtained his first Degree in chemical engineering at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). He was a founding researcher of the Institute of Chemistry of UNAM, specializing mainly in the area of Organic Chemistry. He was a professor of the Faculty of Chemistry of UNAM, Director and professor of the School of Chemistry at the Universidad Iberoamericana, and deputy director of research at the Mexican Institute of Petroleum (IMP). Miramontes was a member the American Chemical Society (Emeritus), the Mexican Institute of Chemical Engineers, the National Institute of Chemical and Chemical Engineers, the Chemical Society of Mexico, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the New York Academy of Sciences. He died in Mexico City in 2004. The scientific contributions of Luis Miramontes are extensive, including numerous publications and nearly 40 national and international patents in different areas such as organic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, petrochemistry and atmospheric chemistry and polluting agents.

First synthesis of an oral contraceptive

On October 15, 1951, under the supervision of Carl Djerassi and the direction of George Rosenkranz at Syntex laboratory in Mexico City, Miramontes completed the first ever synthesis of an oral contraceptive: progestin norethisterone. While Djerassi is sometimes regarded as 'Father of the Pill'"., it was Miramontes, working under Djerassi's supervision, that achieved the first synthesis. In the words of Djerassi, "On 15 October 1951, Luis Miramontes, a young Mexican chemist doing his undergraduate bachelor's thesis work at Syntex completed the synthesis of the 19-nor-17α-ethynyltestosterone or, for short 'norethisterone'—which turned out to be the first oral contraceptive to be synthesized.". Nobel Laureate Max Perutz added "the chemistry student Luis Miramontes, working under the direction of Djerassi and the director of the laboratory Jorge Rosenkranz synthesized the compound". The last step of the synthesis method was registered on page 114 of the Miramontes's personal laboratory notebook (signed). All three Miramontes, Djerassi, and Rosenkranz are listed on the patent as co-inventors.

Recognition

Luis E. Miramontes, Andrés Manuel del Río (discoverer of vanadium) and Mario Molina, Chemistry Nobel Prize in 1995, are the three most important Mexican chemists of all time.

Selected publications

Patented inventions