Tissue contacting material

A tissue contacting material comprising:

• a) a plurality of regions comprising
• i) an outer region, generally distal to the tissue itself, and sufficient to serve as a protective barrier,
• ii) one or more inner regions directly or indirectly adjacent the outer region, and
• iii) a tissue contacting region directly or indirectly adjacent the inner region(s),
• b) the plurality of regions each comprising one or more of a plurality of polymers selected from the group consisting of:
• i) a first polymer comprising a crosslinked hydrophilic polymer;
• and
• ii) a second crosslinked polymeric matrix, formed of a crosslinkable polymer adapted to incorporate the first polymer without substantially reacting or crosslinking with the first polymer,
• c) the first and/or second polymers being present in respective forms, amounts, and/or ratios within the outer, inner, and tissue contacting regions, respectively, in order to provide the respective regions with one or more substantially different properties selected from the group consisting of swellability in the presence of water, active agent content, permeability to the diffusion of active agent from or through the layer, moisture vapor permeability, and adhesion to tissue.