Recently, in Bangladesh, all tannery industries have been relocated to a new location exclusively established for leather processing industries with modern manufacturing facilities and effluent treatment plants with standard probations. Effluents generated from the tannery industries are now being disposed of into the surrounding river water bodies. In this study, our goal was to investigate the presence of chemical contaminants like hexavalent chromium (Cr6+) in the water bodies surrounding tannery industries and to understand the possible role played by the tannery effluents in contaminating the river water bodies with Cr6+. Result analysis revealed the presence of an amount of Cr6+ (ranging from 0.01 mg/L to 3.54 mg/L) in the surrounding water bodies, which was far above the maximum permissible limit of Cr6+ (0.05 mg/L for surface water), set by the Environmental Protection Agency. It is, therefore, plausible to assume that effluents from the tanneries play an important role in hexavalent chromium contamination of water bodies surrounding tannery industries.

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Fluorescent metal nanoclusters are an emerging class of multifunctional materials engineered at the singleatom level, with dimensions approaching the Fermi wavelength of electrons that offer competitive functionalities of traditional semiconductor QDs including tunable emission, ease of conjugation, extended photostability, and high quantum yield. With the additional advantages of being composed of nontoxic/ biocompatible materials, function with a fraction of the metal content, greatly reduced size for enhanced cellular uptake, opportunity for two-photon absorption at biologically relevant wavelengths, and demonstrated renal evacuation efficacy for in vivo applications, metal nanoclusters hold substantial promise. More recently the development of hybrid atomic cluster synthesis routes has expanded the materials' multifunctional capabilities. This chapter will summarize the current high-yield synthesis and functionalization strategies for producing monodisperse pure metal and hybrid nanocluster materials from both wet chemistry and newly developed biomediated nanocluster synthesis methodologies, involving protein and DNA hosts. The role of the bio-host and surface functional groups on the nanoclusters formation, stability, and physical properties will be detailed through recent experimental and theoretical simulation efforts.

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