Hmm... not sure if I understood your question, but hopefully this would help you out. 
#!/usr/bin/perl

use strict;

my $a = qq{<IL.Check/>};
my $b = qq{<&#x221a;>};

print "Old word: $a\n";

$a =~ s/$a/$b/;
print "New word: $a\n";

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In reply to Re: How to ignore ampersand and pound signs? by bichonfrise74
in thread How to ignore ampersand and pound signs? by Melk

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