Steven Elliot Diamond

Preparation and characterization of a novel catalyst for the hydrogenation of dinitriles to aminonitriles

Abstract Highly dispersed rhodium on a high-surface-area magnesia support is a very selective and efficient catalyst for the partial hydrogenation of aliphatic α,ω-dinitriles to the corresponding ω-aminonitriles. In this catalyst the content of rhodium is 4–5%. The conditions needed for reproducible preparation of the high-surface-area magnesia are described. The role of the high-surface-area magnesia and the steps leading to the preparation of this catalyst are discussed.

β-elimination from transition metal amides

Abstract Ruthenium, rhodium, and palladium phosphine complexes are found to produce metal hydrides in high yields by a β-elimination reaction from the corresponding metal amides. Evidence is presented to support the formation of an imine as the organic product. The isotope effect for the reaction is 6 ± 1 indicative of the importance of C H bond breaking in the transition state.

A novel diagnostic method based on DNA strand displacement

A novel approach for the detection of specific DNA or RNA sequences based on branch migration and DNA strand displacement is described. A partially double-stranded probe complex is prepared with a detectable label on one of the two strands and incubated with analyte molecules under hybridization conditions. The analyte molecules hybridize to the single-stranded portion of the probe complex and undergo branch migration to release the labelled DNA strand from the complex. Initial characterization of the assay indicates that both qualitative and quantitative information about analytes present in a sample can be obtained. The strand displacement assay is more sensitive to sequence alterations in the analyte than is a hybridization assay and can be promoted by rec A protein at 37 degrees C. Finally, a method for preparing probe complexes by cloning in a single-stranded DNA vector is also described.