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Western blotting is regarded as one of the most sensitive techniques to detect specific proteins; the final step of an experiment is the visualization of specific proteins, with a labeled secondary antibody.
Using HRP secondary antibodies offers a significant advantage when compared to primary conjugated antibodies, since the use of HRP or AP secondary antibodies can greatly increase sensitivity. The increased sensitivity with HRP or AP secondary antibodies is because these antibodies are designed to bind the primary antibody in more than one place, resulting in several HRP secondary antibodies being bound to the primary antibody, each with multiple HRP or AP labels.
The use of HRP secondary antibodies and AP secondary antibodies is therefore ideal for western blot since there use allows amplification of the signal and easier detection of protein of interest in the middle of a complex protein mixture.
In immunohistochemistry (IHC) biotinylated secondary antibodies are commonly used, you can learn more about the advantages of these secondary antibodies here.