Can particleboard subfloor be used as a nail base for 3/4" solid wood strip flooring?
I have seen it fail.  I have momentarily tried it.  And I will never waste my time again.  

Fail

Went through a potential house 8-9 years ago.  Mid 60s house.  They just put down hardwood to sell it.  A floor that had just been laid a few weeks earlier had shifting in at least two areas.  I popped off a piece of trim in a closet.  Pointed flashlight down, stuck screwdriver in and broke off a piece of particle board.  I ended up talking them down 15K on the house because of the issue which I reminded them they would now have to disclose.  

Two workers and myself had all of the wood popped up (1000 sq feet worth) in about 3-4 hours.  I was using a putty knife in some places.  The staples didn't hold - and they were long.  We took the particle board out and threw down plywood...  Probably the most tedious task was pulling the staples and numbering the planks.  We got 15K for 2 days of work.

I tried it....

A couple years previous to this I pulled up carpet out of a house (lush wool from the 70s that was past its time).  I had a few hundred feet of leftovers from a previous house so what the hell... In my third row I was push my first row over... I stopped and retreated.



Particle board was used a lot in my area in the 60-70s for carpet.  I can see it working for anything else.  Hell I am not even sure how it lasts 40 years in some houses.  When you pull it up you can see it swollen in some areas.  Even when screw down it pops right up.  Nothing sticks in it (don't get me started on glued down particle board which is a disaster to demo).  

Take a couple planks.  Staple them down  and watch how fast they move.  

I think you have some options... Go back to carpet.  Go to a floating floor and make sure you have a really good underlayment (semi-waterproof).  Or take out particle board and replace with plywood.  If you are by yourself on the job it could take a while but with a couple of helpers it could be a one day (long day) project.  OSB is a subfloor that I would really be wishy-washy on installing hardwoods (never in my house) but particle board is never a thought to me.