Russia and the U.S. have agreed to their first joint steps in nanotech co-operation. Some experts say nanotechnology is set to become one of the most important industries of the century.

It may be invisible to the naked eye, but Nanotechnology is everywhere. It is an extremely fast-growing industry and there has been an explosion in research over the last few years.

Estimates predict that the global nanotech market could top $US 2 trillion during the next decade.

The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is one of the world’s leading technology institutes.

Alexander Liddle, a material scientist from Britain, says the science allows new properties to be made out of existing materials.

“This is a solution of gold nanoparticles which is clearly not gold, it’s red. This red colour is a consequence of the fact that once the particles get small enough, they interact with light very differently from a way a gold bar would interact with light,” Liddle says.

The scientist says nanotechnology will make everyday life easier.

“You could design windows that are self-cleaning, and such products exist in fact – they have nanoparticles on the surface that interact with sunlight and rain to clean off grease essentially,” Liddle says.

When it comes to nanotechnology, Russia and the U.S. are eager to work together.

Delegates from Russia’s State Nanotechnology Corporation visited the American labs.

“The U.S. is the world leader in nanotechnology. It was the first developed country to provide significant sums of money from the country’s budget into the sphere. We’re interested in looking into their practices and becoming partners, so that Russia could also develop in this area,” says Leonid Melamed, Rosnanotech CEO.

Besides, many Russian scientists work in the U.S.

“The most interesting thing for me here is meeting with our compatriots who work here at one of the most famous institutes. We are proud that they have great impact into the work of this institute, and that they work in the leading country in this field means a lot to us. Guys, we’re proud of you!” says Melamed.

While each person comes across nanotech products more often than they think, it looks like science will be taking over even more in the future.