Final answer:
The correct answer is that monoclonal antibodies do not have a lower production cost compared to polyclonal antibodies; in fact, they are more expensive to produce due to the complexity of creating hybridomas.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks to identify an aspect that is not an advantage of using a monoclonal antibody (mAb) over a polyclonal antibody. The advantages of monoclonal antibodies include higher specificity, as they bind to a single epitope, and consistency in binding due to the uniformity of the antibodies that are produced by a single clone of B-cells. However, monoclonal antibodies are not cheaper to produce than polyclonal antibodies. This is because the production of monoclonal antibodies typically involves creating hybridomas, which is a more complex and costly process compared to the production of polyclonal antibodies.
To clarify the choices in the question: a. monoclonal antibodies offer higher specificity as they are identical and specific to a single epitope, b. they provide consistency in binding because each batch is identical, c. the production cost is actually higher for monoclonal antibodies, not lower, and d. they do offer a lower risk of contamination as they are less likely to cross-react with other antigens.