preg_replace dynamic replacement don't work as expected

Question

I have some problems with the fottowing code:

echo preg_replace('/^([@\.]*)$/i', '<span>$1</span>', "example@mail.com");

I want to get example<span>@</span>mail<span>.</span>com", but with $1 I'm not getting the value I need... any help?

Answer 1

Try this, it works

echo preg_replace('/([@\.])/i', '<span>$1</span>', "example@mail.com");