Biological and solid-state nanopores have recently attracted much interest as ultrafast DNA fragment sizing and sequencing devices Their potential however goes far beyond DNA sequencing In particular nanopores offer perspectives of single-molecule (bio)sensing at physiologically relevant concentrations which is key for studying protein/protein or protein/DNA interactions Integration of electrode structures into solid-state nanopore devices moreover enables control and fast switching of the pore properties e g for active control of biopolymer transport through the nanopore We present some of recent work in this area namely the fabrication and characterization of nanopore/electrode architectures for single-(bio)molecule sensing Specifically we introduce a new technique to fabricate ultra-small metal nanopores with diameters smaller than 20 nm based on ion current feedback (ICF) controlled electrodeposition It offers precise control of the pore conductance is easily multiplexed and can be extended to a wide range of different metals (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved