Commercially pure titanium (cp Ti) is widely used in dental implantology. However, it is only passively
integrated in bone and the resulting fixation in the bone, which is necessary for the function, is mainly
mechanical in its nature. With the objective of increasing the chemical interaction between the implant
and bone tissue, several phosphonic acids were synthesized and grafted onto titanium disks. The bare
polished Ti disks (Ti P) and the grafting of three phosphonic acids (methylenediphosphonic acid (MDP),
propane-1,1,3,3-tetraphosphonic acid (PTP), and ethane-1,1,2-triphosphonic acid (ETP)) on these disks
were characterized with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass
spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). These surface analytical techniques provided strong indications of the formation
of a chemical link between the Ti implant and the phosphonic acid molecule. The bioactivity of the modified
Ti disks was evaluated by incubating these disks in a physiological solution (Hank's balanced salt solution
(HBSS)) for 1, 7, and 14 days. Modified surfaces showed only slightly higher calcium levels in the XPS
analysis compared to the reference Ti P surface. Among them, the surface modified with ETP (Ti P + ETP)
induced the highest calcium phosphate deposition after 14 days incubation.