Evaluation of Status of Zinc, Copper, and Iron Levels in Biological Samples of Normal Children and Children with Night Blindness with Age Groups of 3–7 and 8–12 Years Hassan Imran Afridi & Tasneem Gul Kazi & Naveed Kazi & Ghulam Abbas Kandhro & Jameel Ahmed Baig & Abdul Qadir Shah & Sham Kumar Wadhwa & Sumaira Khan & Nida Fatima Kolachi & Faheem Shah & Mohammad Khan Jamali & Mohammad Balal Arain & Sirajuddin Received: 15 July 2010 / Accepted: 20 July 2010 / Published online: 5 August 2010 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 Abstract The causes of night blindness in children are multifactorial, and particular consideration has been given to childhood nutritional deficiency, which is the most common problem found in underdeveloped countries. Such deficiency can result in physiological and pathological processes that in turn influence hair composition. This study was designed to compare the levels of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and iron (Fe) in scalp hair, blood, and urine of both genders of children with night blindness with age range of 3–7 and 8–12 years, comparing them to sex- and age-matched controls. A microwave-assisted wet acid digestion procedure was developed as a sample pretreatment, for the determination of zinc, copper, and iron in biological samples of children with night blindness. The proposed method was validated by using Biol Trace Elem Res (2011) 142:323–334 DOI 10.1007/s12011-010-8789-8 H. I. Afridi : T. G. Kazi : G. A. Kandhro : J. A. Baig : A. Q. Shah : S. K. Wadhwa : S. Khan : N. F. Kolachi : F. Shah : M. K. Jamali : M. B. Arain : Sirajuddin National Center of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry, University of Sindh, Jamshoro 76080, Pakistan T. G. Kazi e-mail: tgkazi@yahoo.com J. A. Baig e-mail: jab_mughal@yahoo.com F. Shah e-mail: shah_ceac@yahoo.com M. K. Jamali e-mail: mkhanjamali@yahoo.com M. B. Arain e-mail: bilal_ku2004@yahoo.com H. I. Afridi (*) Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland e-mail: hassanimranafridi@yahoo.com N. Kazi Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, 76080 Jamshoro, Pakistan e-mail: tgkazi@yahoo.com