 Wound healing is a complex process involving multiple cell types and an appropriate extracellular microenvironment. Chronic wounds are often characterized by high protease activity, persistent infection, excessive inflammation, and hypoxia. Advanced wound dressings have the potential to improve outcomes in patients with poorly healing wounds, but face significant barriers due to the heterogeneous nature of chronic or severe wounds. Recent developments in biomaterials and nanoparticles have led to the creation of active wound dressings which aim to enhance the natural healing process and combat factors such as inflammation, ischemia, scarring, and wound infection. This review paper discusses these novel treatments and their current use in clinical practice. This article was offered by Sabamali Das and Aaron Baker.