“I bear no grudge and no desire for revenge, and I quite understand that scientists do not believe in my discovery; but I rise against their refusal to test it without ever having tried it.”
N. Duffaut, 1991
In 1957, Norbert Duffaut, an organic chemist at the University of Bordeaux, achieved a major feat by synthesising an organosilicon molecule for the first time. Stabilised first with ascorbic acid and then with salicylic acid, the molecule soon found its place under the name DNR (Duffaut Norbert Remède).
From the beginning of 1958 Duffaut devoted his research to the applications of DNR. In 1967 the Academy of Medicine honoured Dr G. R. Rager with the J. Levy-Bricker prize for his work on organosilicon compounds.
The collaboration between Loïc Le Ribault and Norbert Duffaut
In 1982 two chemists, Norbert Duffaut and Loïc Le Ribault, met at a scientific conference in Bordeaux. Duffaut, long interested in a synthesised organic silica molecule, teamed up with Le Ribault, who had advanced microanalysis equipment at his C.A.R.M.E. laboratory.
Working together, Duffaut and Le Ribault developed a new generation of the molecule. For nearly ten years the two scientists pursued their research, constantly seeking to improve their preparations.
In 1985 Le Ribault filed an international patent application and in 1986 held a press conference in Paris. The authorities showed little interest in the work.
In 1987 Le Ribault informed Jacques Valade, then Minister of Research and Higher Education, of the interest of this research and asked that a trial be undertaken. The request went unanswered for eighteen years.
After Norbert Duffaut’s death, Loïc Le Ribault continued the work alone. Until then, organic silicon preparations had been used only externally and had a limited shelf life because of their molecular instability.
In 1994 Le Ribault developed a new molecule, stable over time. He explained that the organic silicon molecule is unstable at the atomic scale, constantly reorganizing itself thanks to its strong oscillatory power, and that stabilising this ephemeral molecule marked a major advance. Another advance lay in the great purity of the molecule, entirely organic and uncontaminated by other compounds: fifth-generation organic silicon.
Monomethylsilanetriol, stabilised thanks to Loïc Le Ribault’s formula, is the form that bears his name today. Le Ribault also discovered a method for stabilising silicic acid with an organic compound, which led in 2006 to a formulation of plant origin.
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