$re = '/([^a])aa([^a])/m';
$str = '#aa
.aa
#aa>
#aa{
#aa+
#aa
#aa{
#aaa{
test#aa{';
$subst = "$1abcd$2";
$result = preg_replace($re, $subst, $str);
echo "The result of the substitution is ".$result;
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for PHP, please visit: http://php.net/manual/en/ref.pcre.php