In order to provide a second economic life to agave fibers, an important waste material from the production of tequila, filaments based on polylactic acid (PLA) were filled with agave fibers (0, 3, 5, 10 wt%), and further utilized to produce biocomposites by fused deposition modeling (FDM)-based 3D printing at two raster angles (−45°/45° and 0/90°). Differential scanning calorimetry, water uptake, density variation, morphology, and composting of the biocomposites were studied. The mechanical properties of the biocomposites (tensile, flexural, and Charpy impact properties) were determined following ASTM international norms. The addition of agave fibers to the filaments increased the crystallinity value from 23.7 to 44.1%. However, the fibers generated porous structures with a higher content of open cells and lower apparent densities than neat PLA pieces. The printing angle had a low significant effect on flexural and tensile properties, but directly affected the morphology of the printed biocomposites, positively influenced the impact strength, and slightly improved the absorption values for biocomposites printed at −45°/45°. Overall, increasing the concentrations of agave fibers had a detrimental effect on the mechanical properties of the biocomposites. The disintegration of the biocomposites under simulated composting conditions was slowed 1.6-fold with the addition of agave fibers, compared to neat PLA.

Alterations in neurogenesis result in the inevitable loss of brain nervous tissue and cause neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and Huntington’s disease (HD). In this regard, hydrogels based on natural biopolymers have attractive properties, such as excellent biocompatibility, a low immune response, and a significant similarity to the extracellular matrix (ECM) of tissues, thus supporting cell proliferation and migration. Human ECM is composed by relatively small amounts of fibrous, proteins, and polysaccharides. For example, scaffolds composed of gelatin and hyaluronic acid are highly abundant components in human ECM. The methacrylation of hyaluronic acid (HAMA) and gelatin (GelMA) through carboxyl and hydroxyl groups under UV light radiation at 365 nm produce polymeric scaffolds with elastic moduli similar to tissues, and, therefore, potential candidates to adhere, host, and facilitate cell proliferation and differentiation, which are dependent on their mechanical properties. In this work, the mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of HAMA and GelMA hydrogel mixtures were studied and characterized via linear rheological measurements, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

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