## 3 Results and Discussion
### Binding Optimization  
Optimization of binding conditions was assessed through the study of the required time to reach equilibrium (Figure 4) and the concentration of acetic acid in methanol (Figure 5) for extraction procedure. At least 3 h were required for \(B\) values to reach the equilibrium. This feature can restrict the application of the material to lower concentrations. Maximum recovery is achieved with 10% acetic acid, further increases did not improve extraction. The influence of pH on binding was evaluated over the range 3 to 10. As 2C-B is a weak base (pKa = 9.8) and MAA a weak acid (pKa = 4.7), the pH of the solution can influence template-polymer interaction since it will determine which chemical species are present in solution. The data found (Figure 6) showed that higher recovery was obtained between the pKa of 2C-B and MAA (5 \(<\) pH \(<\) 10). This pH effect can possibly be explained by increased adsorption promoted by ionic interaction, which will be higher with the protonated amine group of 2C-B and anionic carboxylate groups of MAA. Therefore, in the subsequent experiments pH was adjusted to pH = 7. Figure 3: Thermoanalysis curves of prepared materials: (**A**) thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and (**B**) derivative of thermogravimetric analysis (DTG). Binding Parameters and Isotherm Fitting  
For all studied MIP, B _versus_ F isotherm plots of equilibrium batch binding experiments (Figure 7) exhibit a saturation-type curve. This supports the current understanding that adsorption at MIP occurs via a mixture of specific binding, due to the presence of specific cavities, with non-specific binding, related to surface adsorption by [PERSON] forces [PERSON] (1935). NIP isotherm plots showed a lower saturation progress when compared with the corresponding MIP. Figure 4: Kinetics of adsorption of 0.17 mM of 2C-B in phosphate buffer (pH = 7) using 10 mg of MIP 3. Figure 5: Rate of recovery of bonded compound after washing loaded MIP with methanol containing 0–20% (\(v/v\)) of acetic acid. Figure 6: Effect of pH on average recovery (mean \(\pm\) SD, \(n\) = 2) of 2C-B (0.35 mM) after incubation with molecularly imprinted polymers. Strategies to compare imprinted and non-imprinted polymers and evaluate their performance have been a source of debate [25,32]. Theoretical isotherm models have been extensively utilized to conduct comparative analyses of materials [25]. These models provide a means for quantitative analysis, although it should be noted that the resulting values are considered apparent. Distribution factors \(D\), when calculated by the x,y-interception points of isotherms (see experimental section), allow further comparison with non-imprinted material (i.e., imprinting factor IF) or competitor molecules (i.e., selectivity factor S). Non-linear fitting of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models (Equations (2) and (3), respectively) were tested. The Langmuir model assumes that adsorption follows a homogeneous monolayer coverage. It considers a finite number of binding sites such that once these sites are filled no further molecules can bond. On the other hand, Freundlich represents a reversible reaction where multilayer adsorption is permitted. In general, in our batch experiments, the Langmuir model afforded the best fitting from the analysis of parameters, with a lower sum of squares (SS), higher correlation coefficients (R\({}^{2}\)), and overall higher probability of being the correct model using [PERSON]'s method, when compared with [PERSON] model (Table 2). Other adsorption models that consider a heterogeneous distribution of binding sites, namely bi-Langmuir, were also tested but the fitting did not meet requirements. MIP obtained _via_ MW-assisted synthesis (MIP 1-3) showed Langmuir's _Bmax_ values ranging from 75.9 to 115.6 \(\upmu\)mol\(\cdot\)mg\({}^{-1}\) and _Kd_ values ranging from 8.6 to 32.8 \(\upmu\)M (Table 2).